Of Bonds and Beasts
by Dreamcatcherphenomenon
Summary: Nearly sixteen years after the war ends and the ninja world is at peace. Naruto and Sasuke have raised their children in a world of ease and happiness, while keeping secret from them an ominous world that wants nothing more than to destroy them. SasuNaruSasu with heavy implication of m-preg, language, OC children, and possible adult situations
1. Chapter 1

Hello

First time caller, long time user.

So, I have been reading Naruto fanfiction for about 11 year now, I believe. (Yikes) Like many Naruto fans, I was very unhappy with the ending. I have always had a plot in my mind for after the ending so I decided to start typing it out.

This story is a way for me to procrastinate on school work, life, grade school applications, etc. and it currently has nine chapters. Really, I just wanted to post it to see if I could get a reaction and maybe publish more chapters as time goes on. But, this story is really more about fun for me than anything else.

It's set in the future, has heavy implications of m-preg, some SasuNaruSasu light love (but also some heavy scenes that will be able to be skipped), swearing, and has dear Naruto and Sasuke trying to run a village while also chasing after four children and trying to keep them safe.

I hope you all enjoy. And if not, don't rip me apart too much.

* * *

Static.

"The target is advancing toward location B faster than we thought. Sayuri, what's your location?"

"I'm closer to location C, sensei, I won't be able to get there in time."

"Who's near B, then?"

Static.

"I am, sensei. I can capture the target."

A fourth voice. "No, Ayumi, don't touch the target."

"I'm right there, Jun, I can get it."

"Ayumi. Don't touch the target." The fourth voice repeated. "I am nearing location B. I can get it."

"Junichiro, are you confident you can get there in time?"

"Yes, sensei."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but he will never be a ninja. No matter how hard he tries, his body is not cut out for it. I suggest that he drops out of the academy and enrolls in the school that the civilian children attend."

There was a sharp intake of breath.

"How could you say that!?" The sound of a chair scarping against the floor fell in time with hands slamming on top of the desk. "You have no right to say those things, it is not your job to… Kenta, wait, Kenta!"

It was too late, the boy who had previously been sitting next to him was already fleeing the room.

Turning back to the man behind the desk, he scowled. His shoulders were stiff, and his cerulean eyes were hard. "I'll deal with you later, but if I ever hear anything like that come from your mouth again, I'll…" He was at a loss for words. Him, a loss for words, stunning. He was too angry to think. Storming from the room, he flew into the hall, "Kenta! Kenta, wait. Can we talk about this?"

"Hokage-sama," he was intercepted by another person at the end of the hall. Great, what now?

* * *

"You idiot! I told you not to touch the target!"

"Why, so you could get all of the credit for the mission, Jun?" The girl cradled the hissing cat to her chest, trying her hardest not to let it go. It had scratched one of her pale cheeks in the process, and her long black hair was disheveled, showing it had been a fight to grab it.

"No, are you really as stupid as you look?"

"Junichiro, it's okay. Ayumi caught the target, the mission is a success." Came the voice of their sensei as he landed behind the two, Sayuri landing beside him only moments later.

Scowling, Junichiro stepped forward and yanked the animal out of the girl's hands. Her entire face was starting to grow red and swell. "Konohamaru-sensei, she's allergic to cats."

"Ah," the male scratched his chin as Sayuri—a medic-nin in training—pulled out an anti-histamine spray and used it on the girl who was now beginning to sneeze profusely. "Does the Hokage not know about this?"

"Trust me, he does," Junichiro muttered bitterly. "He's just not the most observant person nowadays."

Konohamaru ruffled his hair, blonde and uncontrollable. "Cut him some slack, he has a lot on his plate right now."

"Don't we all?" Glancing back to make sure that Ayumi was starting to improve a little, he turned to make his way to the office of the Hokage.

* * *

So she's had a fever since late this morning? Sighing, Naruto looked down at the squirming baby in his lap. She seemed fine, only fussy, but the daycare couldn't keep her if she had a fever. She would be seven months this week, though. She was probably just teething.

He needed help.

Since she couldn't stay at the daycare, and he had no one else to watch her at the moment, he had to keep her with him at his desk. He had been intercepted in the school building with someone delivering her to him, he hadn't been able to catch up to Kenta and talk to him. Who knew where he was, and what he was feeling.

He really needed help.

He was doing this alone and it was too hard.

A team was in the room debriefing from their last mission, but he wasn't paying much attention. His mind was everywhere but work today. He could feel Iruka—whom was to his left—glancing over at him every now and then, obviously worried about him, but he ignored it.

Naruto sighed again as the team captain finished up his statements, "Yes, very good, thank you for your hard work. I will deliver details about your next mission shortly, you have a three day break."

It's not like very many of the missions given out these days were too taxing on the ninja. The world was still relatively at peace from the last war. Only minor scuffles broke out between rouge ninja states every now and then.

As the team left the room, one of the special chunin who had been assigned to the missions desk announced their next team, "Team nine was assigned to bring back Tora the… fourth."

Gods, when would that lady learn that cats just weren't her thing?

Glancing up at the team as they entered, Naruto blinked, why was Ayumi's face swollen?

Junichiro, who was still holding the cat, handed it back to its owner—much to the bemusement of the cat—and joined his team at the front of the room.

"I see that the mission was a success, were there any issues?" The baby squirmed in his lap.

"Yes…" Junichiro began, only to be cut off by Ayumi. She had always been a loudmouth.

"Yeah, it was way too easy. Don't you think it's time that we started getting real missions instead of these easy ones that are meant for kids? We're genin, can't we get something fun, exciting, something that doesn't involve chasing children or animals, or picking up trash in the river?" She crossed her arms defiantly, she did this often, thinking they deserved more than they got. She attempted to look tough, but with her face so swollen she failed.

Something struck a cord within Naruto, she reminded him so much of himself when he had been her age, and normally he would just smile and let it go. Though today he wasn't in the mood for amusement and he snapped. "You will get the missions that I give you, and you'll be happy with what you have. You're lucky you are even getting what I give to you. Easy? You have scratches on your face and arms, your hair's a mess, and who knows why your face is so swollen. It obviously wasn't too easy for you, or you wouldn't be looking like you just fell through a thicket of thorn bushes. And if you continue to complain, then I will continue to give you these 'easy' missions until you learn the value of them."

Everyone in the room fell silent and stared at the man with wide eyes. Ayumi looked horrified standing there, and Junichiro looked pissed. Mouth gaping, the girl tried to defend herself but could only get out single syllables so she gave up and stormed out of the room looking like she was about to cry.

Junichiro turned to follow her, stopping in the doorway to glare at the Hokage. "I know you are going through a hard time right now, but so are we, and you have no right to take it out on us. Oh, and Ayumi's face is swollen because she is allergic to cats. I thought you would know that better than anyone else."

At the front of the room, Sayuri stood stiffly and her pale green eyes stared at him in horror. The baby in his lab was whining, not enjoying the fact that he had raised his voice. And Konohamaru didn't look much better than Sayuri, nor did the rest of the room.

Standing up, Iruka clapped his hands, "Okay, why don't we take a lunch break?" The rest of the room was too quick to agree, and soon it was only Iruka, Naruto, and the unhappy baby in the room.

Taking the baby from Naruto, Iruka cradled her and shushed her, knowing that Naruto didn't have the energy to do so right now. The blonde just put his face in his hands and sat quietly for a moment.

"I can't do this anymore," he whispered after a few minutes of silence looking up dejectedly at Iruka. "Everything is spiraling out of control. It's been four months, people are starting rumors."

Irukia knew the rumors he was talking about; he had heard them himself this morning.

"That's all they are, Naruto, rumors. It'll be over soon."

"But what if it won't be over soon, Iruka-sensei? I have no way of knowing, and I am going crazy. I have too much on my plate, and nothing is going right today. Hana has a fever and can't be in daycare, and I have no one to take care of her. Teruo-sensei told Kenta that he would never be a ninja today. And now I've forgotten that Ayumi is allergic to cats, just yelled at her for doing the exact same thing I did at her age, and Jun…"

"Wait, Teruo-sensei told Kenta that he would never be a ninja?"

Putting his face in his hands again, Naruto nodded. "Yes. I'm so angry, I wanted to put him through the wall then and there. And I haven't gotten to talk to Kenta about it because of Hana. I have no idea where he is, what he's feeling… And gods, I will never stop blaming myself for what happened to him. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, no one blames you for it but yourself. There was nothing you could have done, Naruto, there was no way you could have known…"

"But I was supposed to protect him. No one could protect him but me, and I failed."

"Naruto…"

"But that's not the point. Everything is screwed up right now, everything has gone wrong today, and I don't know how to fix a damn thing. I don't know what to do."

Sighing, Iruka looked down at the baby in his arms and she looked up at him with the same blue eyes as Naruto. "You can start by talking to Ayumi and Junichiro and getting things cleared up. Apologize to them both, make amends. You still have work to do today, and a meeting in two hours, so take your lunchtime to apologize. I will take Hana until you are done with your meeting, that way I can help you with something. As for Kenta, and the rest of it… I don't know what to tell you."

"Yeah, I guess it'll work itself out. I hope it'll work itself out."


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I received moderately good feedback (no death threats) so, I will continue to post this story. I will try and update every week on either Sunday or Monday, but I may not always be successful in that. I will be as regular as I possibly can and try to power through this story as a way to further procrastinate college/grad school work.

The plot may be a little slow moving, and include chapters that are pure drabble, but alas, I promise that there is a plot and that there will be action. There is a lot to set up and account for when it comes to the past sixteen years, so explanations will come as they may.

So... Enjoy?

* * *

"Ayumi, stop crying."

The girl was sitting in the middle of her room with her knees pulled up to her chest, her face on her knees.

"I'm just so mad, he had no right to…" A sob slipped through. "He had no right…"

Sighing, Junichiro sat in front of her and place the first aid kit next to him. "Let me take care of your face, I'll clean the scratch for you."

Ayumi looked up and brushed the tears from her face. After his own storm-out, Junichiro had followed her home to make sure she was okay.

"You're right, he didn't have a right to snap at you like that. But you know how much pressure he's under right now, so you should have known better than to provoke him like that. He was obviously already on edge when we walked in there." Taking the girl's face in his hands, he took an alcohol swab to the scratches, causing her to flinch. He was unapologetic. "I don't know what crawled up his ass and died today, but you know he's probably regretting it right now. Does that make it forgivable? No. But we need to keep in mind how much he has to deal with right now."

He finished by bandaging up her cheek.

"I hate it, Jun. I just want everything to go back to normal. It sucks." The waterworks were coming again.

Junichiro pulled the girl into his arms, "Come here, crybaby." She was the most important person to him, and although she got on his last nerve eighty percent of the time, it hurt him to see her cry like this. "I know it's hard. But it will get better, I promise."

They stayed like they were for a few minutes while Ayumi got her tears out, the girl sitting up when they heard a knock on the bedroom door. The two genin glanced up to see Naruto standing in the doorway, a sad, apologetic look on his face.

"Can I come in?" He asked, eyeing the two. It was up to Ayumi, who just shrugged and nodded. Entering the room, he took a glance around, seeing that it was really messy, but that was normal for the girl. She wasn't the best at cleaning up after herself. But again… that was much like himself.

He sat in the floor next to the two, crossing his legs. "I just wanted to apologize to the two of you for my behavior. Especially to you, Ayumi. I should not have snapped at you like I did, and I should have remembered that you have an allergy to cats. I wasn't thinking on either part. I know that you probably hate me using this excuse, but I have a lot on my plate right now, too much stress built up. Especially today, today is an awful day, and snapping at you only made it worse. I know that it isn't easy on anyone else either, so I'm sorry. I'm trying. I'm just exhausted and at my wits' end right now."

"It is hard on everyone else right now, and it's not fair that we have to go through this. That any of us have to deal with this right now. We've heard the rumors too, you know, we're struggling too." Ayumi kept her voice strong and defiant, even though she just wanted to start crying again.

"And we're all having trouble dealing with it as well. We're angry and scared like you are." Junichiro spoke up to Naruto's surprise. He had never voiced that to anyone as of late.

"And I wish that you hadn't heard those stupid rumors. But you do know that's all they are, right? Rumors. Nothing more." Naruto looked between the two genin, who both nodded slowly. "It will all be better soon. I don't know when, but it will. It could be today, it could be next week, next month. I don't know. And I can't guarantee that I won't snap like that again, but I can tell you that I will try to make it easier for us all. Okay?"

"Okay." Ayumi echoed, which Junichiro quietly followed.

"And you don't have to forgive me, I know you're both pissed at me. But I do want you to know I'm sorry." Naruto forced a grin to his face. The two nodded, and Naruto responded by leaning forward and bringing them both into a big hug. It was returned by Ayumi, but Jun just leaned into it slightly. "I love you both."

Giving them a squeeze, Naruto let go and stood up. "I have a meeting to attend, both of you go and get some rest. When I have time I will treat you to a big dinner out to try and make it up to you." He gave them another weak grin before leaving.

When he was gone, Junichiro sighed and stood up, "I have some errands to run. But I agree, get some rest and make sure get your tears under control."

Ayumi attempted to wipe the remaining moisture from her face as the male left, "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

The meeting was long. Too long. Three hours long, and all it did was add more stress to his plate.

Naruto was making his way through the village to pick up Hana from Iruka's. He was in no particular hurry, and elected instead to take his time and enjoy the fact that he was actually able to get at least a little bit of fresh air. It was nearing October and the air carried the scent of a promise of a cold fall.

He was glad that he was able to remain in his own village during meetings between the Kage. Since the war had ended, technology had come a long way, and their meeting had gone on through a video call. Though he wasn't quite up to par on using this new technology, and often times he hated it. But, his illiteracy with technology hadn't been what had stressed him out this meeting. Actually, without either of his advisors present in the village, he may have gotten himself in trouble during the meeting.

But, Shikamaru was in Suna and returning to Konoha sometime this week, and his other advisor, well, his other advisor was….

A noise stopped Naruto in his tracks. He wasn't sure what it was, but something caused him to tense. He was in a part of the village that was heavily covered in trees, and he swore that he had heard an abnormal rustling.

Naruto was on alert. He couldn't feel the presence of any anbu guards, and he wondered briefly where the hell they were. No, this person had their chakra hidden, and hidden quite well, as the man barely even noticed the other's presence. That could only mean that whoever was following him was strong. Really strong. If this person chose to attack him, it could result in an actual fight for Naruto, something he hadn't had to do in quite a long time.

Finding a kunai hidden under his robes, Naruto clenched it in one of his fists, ready for the other to make another noise. He was ready to attack if need be.

Nearly getting ready to let himself slip into sage mode, he heard the noise again. He felt the presence to his left and the hair on the back of his neck raised. Looking into the nearest tree, he had turned his head just in time to see someone launching themselves toward him.


	3. Chapter 3

As promised, a new chapter on Sunday night! It's a titch late as I had a large assignment due this evening, but it's here nonetheless!

I'm not quite sure what to actually put in my author's notes. So, I guess if you guys have any questions or anything you want me to address or talk about, let me know.

* * *

The blonde had a brief moment to brace himself for the force of the attack, and had just thrown his hands up to counteract the sudden weight that was now pummeling him to the ground.

He was off his feet for only a second before he was up and lunging at the person. They were heavily cloaked and masked, roughly the same size as himself, if not a few centimeters taller. With a kunai in hand, he went after the individual wondering where his dammed anbu were if they didn't have his back.

But maybe this is what he needed.

He felt his adrenaline running, and he wasn't feeling as stressed out at the moment. It was exhilarating, and he was prepared to fight if need be.

Unleashing his chakra, Naruto prepared for a fight. However, when the person elected to do the same, a familiarity swept over Naruto's senses and he knew why his security team wasn't backing him up. Allowing his chakra to fall back into dormancy he chose to a few taijutsu moves.

Naruto kicked up, aiming for the chest of the other, but his foot was expertly blocked before it even got close to hitting the individual. The person now had his foot though, and used it to try and knock him off balance. But the blonde knew better. He used the person's hold to gain leverage as he jumped up and tried to fling himself at his opponent.

He nearly got his fist to make contact with the individual just before they let him go. The person took their chance to charge him, and Naruto knew that he was in trouble when he backed up and found himself toppling backwards on a tree root. The person was on top of him for only a moment before Naruto changed their positions, pinning the person's hands over their head with one hand, and had his other hand to the other's throat. They didn't even try to fight back, but then again they had barely tried at all in the first place.

Glaring at the person below him for a moment, the blonde sat back on his heels. "You bastard," he muttered before standing up. Crossing his arms, he didn't even look at the person who was slowly getting up. He was mad, and rightly so. Not because this person had attacked him, no. But the other knew why.

Still glaring, a small pout made its way to the Hokage's lips. "I expect you in my office within the hour. You're in trouble."

The only reply he received was a sharp snort from the other before they disappeared from sight. However, that reply was all that he needed, and for the first time that day Naruto found himself smiling.

Brushing a few leaves out of his tousled hair, he continued on his way. He now felt the presence of anbu around him, and he felt a certain amount of calmness wash over him. Some of his stress seemed to melt away.

A light smile was still on his lips when he arrived at Iruka's house. He knocked gently and let himself in when he was given permission.

Inside, he saw Kakashi sitting across the kitchen table from Gai whom was in his wheelchair and the two were playing a card game. Hana was sitting on Kakashi's lap looking moderately content as she chewed on what appeared to be a teething ring. It seemed like they were the only three here.

Since Naruto had taken over the title of Hokage, Kakashi had retired from life as a ninja and decided to turn his love of reading into a writing career. Of course it was mostly smut like Pervy Sage, but it kept him busy at least, that and being on his council.

Toeing off his sandals in the entryway he entered the house and greeted the two men. Upon hearing his voice, Hana looked up from her toy and whined while reaching towards him. Naruto obliged and picked her up, resting her on his hip.

"Where's Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

Kakashi placed a hand to his chest in mock offence, "You say that like you don't trust me to take care of your children. I'll have you know, I took care of a village for ten years, I think I can take care of your baby for an hour while Iruka runs errands."

"Quite right," Gai chimed in. "Kakashi is more than capable of taking care of the little one. In fact, his youth comes back to him tenfold when he is around such a vivid young life such as Hana's. And he…."

"Hold on, hold on, I trust you, Kakashi-sensei" Naruto interrupted before Gai got too fired up. "I just had a question for him. I can ask tomorrow, though."

The man smirked through his still ever present mask. "Oh, I know." He laid a card down, seeming to beat Gai at their current game. The man fumed in the background as Kakashi continued. "I have watched all of your children, anyways."

It was true; Kakashi and Iruka had always been the greatest and most available babysitters for him. There was no one else outside of himself and his spouse that he trusted more with his flesh and blood.

Taking the deck of cards, Kakashi began shuffling them to start a new game. "How was the meeting? And how is Gaara?"

Hana began fussing on his hip, so Naruto tried to find her a new position until she settled down. "It went alright. And Gaara…. He's getting better. You can still tell that he is a little lost and confused. But he is better than the last time I saw him."

"And you. Without your advisors, how did you do? Nothing stupid or embarrassing, I hope."

Naruto seemed to flush, "Uh….. Well. I would rather speak to my advisors before talking to any council members about it."

A delicate silver eyebrow rose, "That bad, huh?"

"Eh-he. I will let you know after I talk to my advisors. And speaking of, I have a meeting with one in a few moments. So we will see how mad they are." And after his thank yous and good byes, he was on his way back to his office with Hana on his hip.

After he left, Gai looked to Kakashi. "He seems more youthful than he has been in the last month or so. I wonder if something good has happened to restore his vibrant nature."

Kakashi hummed and dealt out the next game, a knowing look in his eyes. "A certain someone is back. Someone he's more than happy to see."


	4. Chapter 4

Whale, I am a gigantic procrastinator (Haha, get it? Whale...Giagantic?) and I wrote two chapters today (not on porpoise). So I thought to myself, why not post a second chapter this week? Now, don't expect this every time I have a large exam to study for because next week I will be back to posting once a week on Sundays only. And without the puns in my author's note.

So, enjoy getting to see who Naruto is more than happy (though slightly annoyed) to see.

* * *

Finally in his office, Naruto settled the fussy child on the floor surrounded by pillows from the couch in the office. It took a moment of him sitting in the floor with her before she was complacent enough for him to get to work at his desk. It was about naptime, he could tell in the way that her eyes seemed to be getting too heavy to keep open.

Sighing, he looked around at the masses of paperwork that he needed to accomplish. He had been so behind as of late, and there were deadlines he needed to reach soon. Man, he wished that he had been warned of just how much paperwork came with the title of Hokage.

Choosing a file off of the top of his to-do list, Naruto got to work. He looked up every few minutes to check on the baby who was finally content, waving her toy through the air as she looked around the office in observation. He couldn't help but to smile, she was normally a pretty content baby.

He was half way through a document when he heard the door open without any warning. Looking up from the papers, he dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair to regard the tall, dark individual with narrowed eyes. "Well, Uchiha Sasuke in Konoha, as I live and breathe."

The only visible eye of said man rolled. "Are you really that mad at me?"

"I don't know, Sasuke, it's only been four months without a single word from you," Naruto snapped. It caused Hana to whine from her spot in the floor. "You were only supposed to be gone for a month and a half at most, what the hell happened?"

"Watch your language around the baby," Sasuke warned coolly, approaching said child. He crouched down in front of her and she regarded him cautiously, clutching the toy in her hands while she stared at him. And then, finally after a minute she broke out into a big grin and reached towards the man. Sighing softly in what seemed like relief, he picked her up and held her close "She seems to know who I am."

Meanwhile, Naruto laid his face in his hands and sighed. "Sasuke," he muttered with a tinge of desperation.

Taking a seat in the chair across the desk from Naruto, he continued to hold the baby to himself. "You know that I have a reason for being gone for so long. I wouldn't just leave like that."

"People were starting rumors, Sasuke. They were saying that you weren't coming back." Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke looked offended. "You know that I will always come back home, I will always return to you."

"That doesn't mean that hearing people say those things was any less disheartening. Did I believe them? No. But I didn't know where you were or when you would be back, and those rumors hurt to hear."

Trying not to get upset while he was holding the baby, Sasuke pursed his lips. "I've been an active part of this village for sixteen years, Naruto. I have sins in my past, I will admit that before anyone else, but everything I have done has led me to this point, and if they can't see that they can deal with me personally. If they want to talk, let them. But I am here and I am committed to this village, so don't listen to them."

The blonde ran a hand through his hair. "That doesn't make it any easier to hear."

It was quiet in the room until Sasuke looked down at the baby quietly remarked, "Her hair is getting more red."

"I've realized how much she looks like my mom," Naruto said just as quietly. "And her eyes look like they're going to stay blue."

It stayed quiet for a few more minutes. "I found a place where I could get a vast amount of information. It was deep in Ishigakure near the peninsula. I was in disguise, but they were suspicious. They were watching me, keeping tabs on me. If I had tried to reach out to you in any way, they would have found out. But they gave me so much information, information that we need. Not only that, but it took me a month to find them and work my way to where I was. And I hadn't even wormed my way into the actual organization, just the village that surrounded it. That's how hard it is to get information about them. You know I would have contacted you if I could have. I couldn't, Naruto. There was no way."

Pursing his lips, Naruto leaned forward. Again, silence. He looked down at the document he had been working on previously. "I was worried about you."

A soft, quick smile came to Sasuke's lips. "You never need to worry about me."

Finally, Naruto looked up at the other man, making eye contact.

However, it was broken when Hana reached up and yanked some of the long hair that covered Sasuke's left eye. He flinched in surprise and looked down at her. She began giggling due to his reaction, drooling the way a teething baby does as she did.

Both of the men couldn't help but to smile at her as Naruto handed Sasuke a drool rag. "What has been happening around here while I've been gone?"

Naruto groaned, "I don't even know where to begin."

He worked to fill Sasuke in on everything he had missed in the last four months, trying not to leave anything important out.

"You yelled at Ayumi for being… well, Ayumi?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow when Naruto began recounting his day.

"Ugh, yes. And that's not even the beginning of why it was an awful day. It's because of what happened before that." Naruto clenched his fists, almost too angry to say what he wanted to say next. "This morning, Teruo-sensei had the nerve to call me into a meeting with him and Kenta where he advised Kenta to drop out of the academy because he could never be a ninja."

Sasuke tensed up. "What? What authority does that man think he has in order to say something like that? I would have put him through a wall."

"I almost did, but then Kenta ran away and a daycare worker stopped me to give Hana to me because she had a fever this morning and couldn't stay there. I wanted to go after him, but I couldn't. I have no idea where he is, and I know that he is mad at himself right now. But I also know that if I had gone after him, he would have snapped at me and then felt even worse about it."

"It's probably good to have given him some time. Do you want me to go find him and talk to him?"

The Hokage nodded, "I wish that I could do it but I can't bear to have that kind of conversation with him."

"Stop blaming yourself, idiot. None of it is your fault."

"But it is my fault," Naruto muttered desperately, his fists clenched tightly on top of his desk. "I should have been more careful."

Sasuke sighed, "Being careful had nothing to do about it and I really wish that you could finally see that. There was no way you could have known, no way that anybody could have known. You weren't the only one affected by it, or the only one hurt. If they didn't know then how could you?"

Finally unclenching his fists, Naruto ran a hand over his face. "You tell me that all the time."

"And you never listen." A faint smile came over Sasuke's face as he said those words. He then looked down at the baby in his lap to notice that she had fallen asleep during their conversation. "Anyways, what is it that you aren't telling me?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise, "How do you know I'm not telling you something?"

"Because I know you better than anyone else has ever known you, idiot. How could I not know that you're skirting a subject?"

"Eh-he…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck skittishly, "I did something stupid today. But you have to know that I did it out of kindness because it helps someone else."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "…And?"

"We're hosting the next Chunin Exams."

The Uchiha was now glaring. "It's not our turn to host them, so why, pray tell, are we hosting it this half? You know how much work and finances go into hosting it. We still have over a year until we have to host it again."

Naruto knew that he was probably in trouble. "But it was Suna's turn to host it. And I couldn't put that pressure and work on Gaara, he has enough going on at the moment."

Closing his eyes and calmer, Sasuke understood. "I heard about his wife."

"It was sudden," Naruto said sadly. "She had been getting better, but the sickness overtook her. And I know that if anything like that ever happened to me, Gaara would give me the same support."

Sasuke couldn't help but to sigh, he reluctantly agreed with Naruto. "I guess that we will be able to do it. We will have to work some overtime in the next few months to work it out, though. You better be prepared."

The blonde smiled, "I will do everything I can to make it easier on you and Shikamaru."

Gently gathering Hana into his arms, Sasuke stood from his chair. "He will be the most angry about doing all of this work, you know."

"I know." Naruto followed suit and also stood up.

"Do you want me to take her with me?" Sasuke asked, gesturing to the baby.

"No, she will be fine now that she's asleep. By the time she wakes up I should be finishing up here and going home."

Carefully, Sasuke kneeled and set her back on the floor surrounded by pillows before standing. Naruto walked him to the door.

"I will go find Kenta and talk to him. I have a few ideas on where he may be sulking. Oh, and Naruto?"

Naruto was about to respond, but his lips were captured in a soft kiss before he could.

"I'm home," Sasuke muttered against the blonde's lips.

A grin spread across Naruto's face. "Welcome home."

And with that, Sasuke was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**A reviewer suggested that my chapters were too short to actually introduce the plot, and I agree. I had been toying with the idea already, and with the push I decided to lengthen the chapters a little. As the plot starts to thicken and the action starts, they could potentially become even longer. But, in order to keep up with the story and make sure they are published in a timely manner, they will stay this length for now.**

 **So, enjoy!**

* * *

In the middle of a small training ground deep in the woods, a young boy was throwing kunai at a target nailed to a tree. There was desperate aggression behind his throws and it was causing him to hit just off of the center.

Huffing, the boy brought his arm up to wipe sweat off of his pale forehead, brushing back black hair in the process. He was small, smaller than most kids his age and much skinnier. And he was out of kunai.

Walking towards the target, he retrieved some of the knives and took them back to the area he had been previously standing. Finding his position, he threw one and missed the target completely. Growling, he tried again. But this time, another kunai shot out from the trees behind him, knocking his own kunai out of the air, and hitting dead center.

On guard, he pulled another kunai out and regarded his surroundings; lately it had felt like he was never alone when he went anywhere.

"You're too tense." Came a familiar voice from behind a tree. "Drop your shoulder more and watch where your elbow is."

The boy seemed to be seething as Sasuke stepped into the clearing and approached him. "Go ahead, try again."

Using the kunai currently in his hand, the boy turned and tried again. He missed the center.

"Your elbow. You need to pay attention to what you're doing with it." Approaching him from behind, he directed the boy the draw another knife and corrected his position before it was thrown. It hit the center. "Do you see what I mean?"

Instead of being happy about the hit, the boy dropped his arms and clenched his fists. "Why does it even matter?" He snapped.

"Kenta, you…."

"I will never be a ninja anyways. Teruo-sensei basically said that I don't even have a chance at it. He told me to quit." He sunk to the ground and pulled his knees to his chest, hiding his face on them.

"Yet you're out here practicing your throwing technique." Sasuke said calmly, sitting on the ground across from the boy.

"Because I'm angry," was his reply, muffled by his knees.

"Listen, Kenta. Teruo-sensei will be dealt with. He had no right saying anything like that. No right at all. You have been doing perfectly well in your studies and your body hasn't gotten in the way too much."

"But he's right. No matter how hard I try, my body doesn't let me succeed. I can't do it." His voice was strained, he was obviously hurt.

Sasuke gave a light sigh. "It's cheesy, but you can do anything you want. Where you fall short in physical abilities, your mind makes up for it. You are one of the most mature and intelligent eight-year-old that I have ever encountered. If your body fails you, you know how to work around it or push past it. I have never seen anything stop you, much less the words of a stupid man."

The boy looked up at Sasuke as he talked, hugging his knees in tighter to his body.

"Besides," Sasuke said with a shrug. "You are an Uchiha. We don't let anything stop us from getting what we want."

Kenta couldn't help but to smile, feeling a surge of pride when he heard those words. His dad always knew exactly what to say. "But will I ever actually be able to be on a team and go on extended missions without my lungs giving out?"

Standing up, Sasuke wiped the grass off of his clothing. "Maybe, maybe not. We still have about four years before that happens and you could grow stronger by then. And if not, there is so much more that you can do as a ninja to help this village than being out on missions. And with your mind, you can do a lot, my son."

Holding out his hand to Kenta to help him up, he gave a small smile. "Now come on, let's work on your aim a little more, and I can bring you back here tomorrow to train a little more." Looking around the area he couldn't help but to reminisce a little, this was the place he used to come to with Itachi when he had been young. And Kenta, he looked so much like his brother when he had been younger, it was often a little unnerving.

Kenta accepted the offered hand and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist once he was standing. "I missed you, dad, and I'm glad you're home."

The man returned the hug. "I missed you too, kid. Now collect your weapons and take your stance. And watch that elbow."

* * *

By the time they finished up at the training grounds and returned home, the other occupants of the house were already there. Junichiro was sitting at the kitchen table feeding Hana baby food while Naruto cooked dinner. Ayumi, apparently having forgiven the blonde for earlier, was chatting animatedly to him and helping him while Naruto listened attentively and responded with just as much animation.

However, as soon as the door closed behind them, Ayumi glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of him and Kenta in the entryway. Face brightening even more, she was out of the kitchen in a flash. "Daddy!" She cried, throwing her arms around him with enough force to nearly knock him over. Kissing the top of her head, he returned the hug and looked up to see Jun loitering near him as if waiting for his turn. Freeing an arm, he reached over to also pull the blonde boy into the embrace.

After he released the two genin, Ayumi launched into a million questions that were so fast that he could barely comprehend. Trying to answer all of the questions he could, Sasuke directed Kenta to go get cleaned up before directing the other two children back into the kitchen.

Without Ayumi in there keeping him talking, Sasuke could see just how exhausted Naruto really was, but the blonde was trying to act like it didn't affect him. He was slouching a bit, and he looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. Those same eyes also had dark circles under them, showing that he hadn't had much rest. Sasuke could sympathize with him though, taking care of four children and running a village alone without a spouse or advisors for any amount of time would exhaust anyone.

Approaching the man, Sasuke slipped an arm around his waist. "Why don't you go sit down and I will finish dinner."

But Naruto shook his head, "No, go spend time with the kids, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Naruto gave him a soft smile and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, "I'm good, Sasuke."

With the reassurance, Sasuke joined the twins at the table and continued to answer abundant questions from not only Ayumi, but also Junichiro and—once the boy had joined them—Kenta. He glanced over at Naruto every few minutes to check on him, but he seemed to be doing okay, and a small smile was gracing his lips.

Over dinner he listened to them as they told him stories about things that had happened while he had been gone, each of them telling him their tales with a certain amount of vivacity that fit each of their personalities. Ayumi's stories were all colorful and highly detailed; she acted out every part and it left them all amused. Jun told his with nowhere near the amount of flamboyance as his twin, but he was still left smiling over small details and small bouts of laughter would spill from his lips every so often. Kenta, whom was definitely the quietest of the children, would add his own stories in every now and then, getting straight to the point of each story and adding only the most important parts in, smiling every so often. Hana was soaking in the energy of the room, just happy to be held by either Sasuke himself or Naruto as they ate dinner, letting out little giggles like babies do when other people in the room would laugh. And Naruto, the man sat there with the most serene smile on his face; he looked so content, and it was clear that he was just happy to have his entire family here around the table.

Sasuke couldn't be happier to be home.

* * *

The next morning, Sasuke awoke to a face full of blonde hair and his arms full of the owner of said hair. Naruto's face was buried in his chest, and he felt a wet spot on his shirt, meaning that his husband had drooled on him. None of those things were anything that could be considered new.

Glancing at the clock, the man noticed that he had a while before the alarm would go off, so he took that time to enjoy where he was. He was in a place in his life that he never would have even imagined when he had been younger. Never could he have envisioned himself lying in bed and taking time to be happy and enjoy just how quiet the house was, knowing that all of the other occupants were still peacefully sleeping. Well, he never quite would have imagined himself to even be married with four children and happy with his life, much less that his life would be spent with Naruto of all people. Pressing a kiss to the top of Naruto's head, he took in the scent of his spouse, causing the man to tighten his grip around him and mutter something incoherent in his sleeping state.

They had spent the rest of the evening yesterday as a family just talking or watching some show on the television. It had been nice, something he had craved in the four months he had been absent. And he knew that it was not something that Naruto had gotten to do much while he had been gone, as the children seemed just as happy to have him there in the living room with them as they did with Sasuke himself. But the children had a special bond with Naruto—not that they didn't with him or anything. They craved the man's affection and warmth, and they weren't afraid to come and cuddle up to him when he wasn't busy. It was the only time he was still, when one of the kids was craving his physical affection. Sasuke couldn't blame them, everyone craved Naruto's warmth, and for him, nothing made him feel more at peace than the touch of the man in his arms. But maybe he had just grown soft as he had gotten older.

But Naruto had this… motherly nature about him. He always knew how to deal with the kids, and any emotions that may arise. It was probably only natural that he had a maternal air, though, seeing as he had been… Well, he had been the one to give birth to all four children, after all. It had been quite a shock, they day they had found out that thanks to Kurama he was pregnant. Sasuke remembered how shocked Tsunade and Shizune had been, and how grave they had sounded when they told them the news. There was a lot of fighting between he and Naruto for a few weeks, neither of them actually able to wrap their mind around the issue. They weren't even in an actual relationship at that point, and they had both been telling (and lying to) themselves that it was only sex between them. They had come a long way since then.

As the alarm clock went off, Sasuke reached over and hit snooze for Naruto, giving him just ten more minutes of peace and quiet.

Slowly, Sasuke untangled himself from the blonde—causing the man to stir slightly—and slipped from bed. Getting dressed, he decided to go ahead and start breakfast. Kenta was already awake and in the living room, reading on the couch. Sasuke peaked over the back of the couch, which got Kenta's attention and big dark eyes looked up innocently at him.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked the child.

"Only about an hour," the boy replied as he sat up.

"And how late did you stay up last night reading?" Kenta was known to stay awake all night by accident because he has gotten too lost in a book. It could be any book, a fiction book, a book about seals or other ninja arts, history books. The boy loved retaining knowledge.

"I went to bed early, at like ten. I promise."

Smiling gently, Sasuke backed away from the couch. "Come help me with breakfast when you finish that chapter."

A few minutes later, Kenta joined him in the kitchen. "Hey, dad?"

Handing Kenta something to stir, Sasuke gave a hum of recognition.

The boy took a moment to ask his question, his eyebrows were furrowed and he just stared at the thing that he was supposed to be stirring. "Do I have to go to class today?"

Sasuke took a moment to really look at him. He could tell that the kid really didn't want to go, to face his teacher. Kenta faced everything head on, he wasn't afraid of anything. And he never missed his classes unless he had to, but the boy loved learning. Sighing, he shook his head. "No, I won't make you go. But run it by your mom first."

"Run what by me?" Came the groggy voice of Naruto from the doorway of their bedroom.

It wasn't like he had originally enjoyed being called or referred to as 'mom' and it had started out as a joke. It was mostly Kiba and Sai, and occasionally Kakashi who used it as a way to annoy Naruto, but the twins had picked up on it when they began talking and well, it caught on.

"Do I have to go to class today?" Kenta repeated, setting the bowl down to look at Naruto. And the question seemed to bring the blonde into full consciousness.

"Come here, Kenta," Naruto demanded, opening his arms to the boy. And Kenta went to him straight away to be pulled into a tight hug. "I never got to talk to you yesterday after it happened. You know that what Teruo-sensei said wasn't okay, right? He had no right to say what he did, and he is in trouble for saying it. Even if what he said was true, he wouldn't have a right to say it. But it isn't true. You know that, right?"

Kenta buried his face in Naruto's stomach, "I know, mom."

"I'm sorry that I didn't come after you, I wanted to run after you. But are you okay?" He ran a hand through the boy's hair in a comforting fashion.

"I'm fine, mom, I promise. And I wanted to be alone, so I don't blame you for not coming after me. But I am good, I just don't want to see him." He looked up at Naruto with hopeful eyes. "So I don't have to go?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, you don't have to go. But you'll probably have to help dad and me out with the baby today. Is that okay?"

Nodding, Kenta have Naruto a tight hug. "Yeah, I can do that. Thank you."

Kissing him on the head, the blond hugged back. A cry sounded from Hana's nursery, the girl having woken up and grumpy because of her teeth. "You don't have to thank me. Now go help dad."

Kenta did just that as Naruto went to get the fussy baby and try to get her ready for the day between her screams and cries. She was running a fever again, and when he pulled her lip back he could see two small teeth cutting through her gums. Mumbling sweet nothings to her, he tried to sooth her as he moved back into the kitchen where the twins now sat. Ayumi was as vibrant as ever, while Jun looked grumpy, as he wasn't a morning person. Kenta was busily helping Sasuke with breakfast, talking to him about the training that had been promised this afternoon. Despite the fussy baby on his hip, Naruto couldn't help but to smile. He loved having his family all in one place.

* * *

 **So now that Kenta has been fully introduced, I will give just a little more detail about the kids.**

 **The two eldest are Junichiro (often called Jun) and Ayumi, they are both 14 and genin. (They have an August birthday and the fic begins in early October.)**

 **Next is Kenta who is eight years old and still an academy student. If you're wondering why people keep referring to him and a weakness, stay tuned. (He has a December birthday.)**

 **The youngest is Hana who is seven months old and was born in March.**

 **This chapter was a little fluffy, which will happen throughout the fic. But, stay tuned for the next chapter because what starts to arise? I don't know, but it smells like a plot to me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, chapter 6 and the fic has finally reached over 10,000 words. I continue to try and work diligently on it, but between class work, graduation, and preparing for graduate school, I don't have as much time on my hands as I would like. But I am trying, and I have also decided to write cute little extra stories that will be posted whenever they relate to the plot. I already have one written, but it will not be posted until one character is introduced. I will let you know when I have posted one as they just kind of come to me as I am writing.**

 **If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, let me know!**

* * *

"At ten we have a meeting with the head of the orphanage, we then have time for a quick lunch. But then at noon we have a meeting with Sakura dealing with the hospital. At one I have to help with the mission assignment desk, and at… Aw crap."

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked without surprise, he didn't even look up from paperwork that he was filling out to see what Naruto had screwed up in today's schedule.

"At one thirty I have to have a meeting with the Fire Lord. I double booked my schedule." Running a hand through his hair, the blonde sighed.

Shrugging, Sasuke went back to his paperwork. "Then I'll work the assignment desk while you have the meeting."

"Nice try, you know that the Fire Lord likes you more."

"You're delusional."

Grabbing a file folder, Naruto shoved it in front of Sasuke. "Nope. He likes that you get straight to the point; he likes to tell me about how much I waste his time. He doesn't like me."

Taking the folder, Sasuke didn't open it, as he didn't want to accept the meeting. "Idiot, if he didn't like you then you wouldn't be Hokage, he wouldn't have let Kakashi pass the title on to you."

"But Sasuke," the words came out as a whine. "If Shikamaru were here you would be fine going with him for the meeting. Besides, he weirds me out because he just stares at me unblinking all the time. And if you worked the desk then you wouldn't be out of there until after four, and then you wouldn't have much time to spend with Kenta before dark. If you go to the meeting, you will be out of there by two thirty at the latest. Anyways, there is another short meeting to attend after the missions desk."

Sighing, the Uchiha surrendered. "Fine, but you owe me. And you better get to work on all of the paperwork in this office. Just because you got behind while Shikamaru and I were gone doesn't mean I am going to do any more work than usual."

Naruto grinned at the fact that he had gotten his way. "Don't worry, I will make it up to you real good," he said with a hint of something a little more suggestive. The blonde could see from the smirk that then crossed Sasuke's face that the man wouldn't mind such a thanking. He then put aside his schedule to work on one of his many mounds of paperwork until their first meeting.

* * *

The plan for the evening was that their dad was going to stay out with Kenta training until late tonight. So, Ayumi, Hana, their mom, and himself would be going out for dinner. The thought of doing so was nice, as they hadn't gotten to spend much time with the man the last few months since he had been so busy.

Currently, after a day of training with his team, Junichiro was going to pick up Hana from Naruto so that the man could attend one last meeting before dinner. It was all good and fine for the baby to sit with him in his office, or sometimes at the mission's desk, but he couldn't take her into meetings with him, which was understandable.

Ayumi had stayed behind to hang out with Sayuri to gossip in the way that they did. They were both such excitable people. So, it left Jun alone to pick up their baby sister.

The blonde was just nearing the academy building when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He froze as a feeling of dread washed over him, and he swore he heard something behind him. He was being followed.

Turning his head, he tried to look for any signs of another person behind him, his cerulean eyes calculating and hard. This had been happening a lot recently, he would feel the presence of another person when he was alone, or out with one of his siblings with no one else present.

Reaching for a kunai, Junichiro clenched it in his fist, undrawn but ready for whatever would come.

"Jun?" And inquisitive voice came from across the yard.

The blonde's head snapped to the owner of the voice to see Iruka looking at him with a worried expression. And as soon as the man made himself know, his stalker left immediately.

"Are you okay?" Iruka had been leaving for the day after finishing up in the mission room when he had seen the boy, and he could feel another presence in the area. One that was wholly unfamiliar. He didn't sense them until he had gotten close, though, they seemed to be masking themselves relatively well.

Relaxing just a touch, the boy simply nodded. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Approaching the genin, Iruka put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Has someone been following you, or is was this just an isolated incident."

Biting his lip, Junichiro nodded. "Someone had been following me, and I think Ayumi and Kenta too. But they leave when any other person shows up. It's just weird."

Furrowing his eyebrows, the brunette gave another look around the yard of the academy. "How long has this been going on? Have you told your parents about this?"

"No," the boy answered quietly, "They've had a lot on their plates recently, I didn't want to add any more stress to mom's workload, especially since my dad was gone for a while. I figured no one would try to do anything weird. It's been happening for about a month now."

With a sigh, Iruka shook his head. "This isn't the kind of thing to keep from your parents no matter how stressed they are. Jun, this is serious and you need to tell them." He had a very bad feeling about this. There were circumstances surrounding the children of Naruto and Sasuke that they themselves weren't aware of. The men had been good about keeping those kinds of things from their children, but it was now obviously something that needed to be discussed.

"I-I know, Iruka-sensei. I'll tell them." He was starting to feel more creeped out within the last few days, so he had been planning on telling them anyways.

"Good," the man said quietly as he squeezed the shoulder his hand was resting on. "Now hurry along inside, and go straight home after getting your sister from Naruto, okay?"

He let the boy go after he promised to do so. It wasn't like their house was far from Naruto's office, just right across the yard of the academy. But something didn't sit well with him, and when he watched the boy leave he couldn't help but to sigh. But when Junichiro disappeared into the building, the man was surprised to feel an arm circle his waist.

"How long have you been lurking around here?" He asked the new figure.

"Long enough," Kakashi replied, looking into the thick trees that Junichiro and Iruka had previously been concerned with. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Taking the hand of the arm that was encircling him, Iruka finally pulled himself away from the spot he had been frozen to. "Me too."

Junichiro had always played his part well, acting as the eldest child. He was independent and responsible, and was constantly taking care of his siblings—including his own twin. The fact that the boy hadn't said anything so far hadn't really surprised him because Junichiro always had the stubborn mindset that he could fix anything on his own. It was a trait he had inherited from both of his parents, and it only made him more persistent.

Humming, Kakashi started to lead them both home, glancing over his shoulder once more. The children would be safe for now, but the issue at hand was still concerning. "It will be fine, even if I need to provide the extra eye to make sure that they're okay. Besides, if their parents can save the world, they can surely make sure that whatever this is goes away."

* * *

By the time Sasuke and Kenta returned home, it was well past dark. Hana was already in her crib sleeping soundly, the twins were playing some game in Junichiro's room, and Naruto was in his small home office working on some papers.

Kenta immediately sought the man out and told him about their day. Sasuke could hear a certain amount of excitement in the boy's voice as he talked about their lesson in throwing kunai and shuriken, and how he was being taught how to do the fireball jutsu like many Uchiha started learning at his age before him. And of course, as Kenta talked Naruto responded animatedly, showing a genuine interest in everything that the boy was telling him.

Approaching the office, Sasuke leaned against the doorframe and watched the two interact. When he caught Naruto's eye, the blonde grinned at him, leaving Sasuke to smile back fondly.

As Kenta finished retelling his day, Naruto ruffled his hair. "You've had a long day, so why don't you go shower and get ready for bed? Then I'll come tell you goodnight and we can talk some more."

The boy agreed more than happily, but before he could leave, Sasuke set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You did so well today, I couldn't be more proud of you."

Those words caused a rare, beaming smile to grace the boy's lips, he was more than happy to be praised by his parents. "Thanks, dad."

After letting him go, Sasuke finally entered the office. He stole Naruto's lips in a quick kiss before looking down at what he was working on. A mirthful look took over his features. "And I'm proud of you for actually doing some work."

"Shut up, bastard." Naruto muttered. "I am a very productive and busy man."

"When you want to be."

"When I want to be," the blonde echoed. "So Kenta did well today? I'm surprised you two stayed out so late to work."

"I was worried about if he would be able to have optimal breathing control for the jutsu. Naturally, it takes a lot of air and I didn't know if his lungs would be able to handle it. He seems to be getting it down, though. Especially the hand signs; he picked those up quickly, but he is still trying to find that right place to hold his chakra when executing it. His shuriken work has improved a lot, though. I'm nothing short of impressed."

Naruto smiled proudly. "Good. We should take the twins out sometimes next week and work with them." Sasuke hummed in agreement. "Oh, and I want to spar sometime soon. We haven't gotten to do it since before Hana, and I really want to get out there and let loose."

"You're wanting to get your ass kicked?"

"Hah, in your dreams. You'll be screaming uncle by the time I'm done with you." The blonde declared, pointing a pen in Sasuke's face tauntingly.

Sasuke snorted. "Now you're the one that's dreaming, loser." He leaned forward and captured the blonde's lips in another kiss. This time it was a little more drawn out, and Naruto's eyes slipped shut for a moment. "Although, I may have you screaming my name later."

Opening his eyes, the blonde grinned. "Now that's something I may be able to agree to."

A smirk firmly planted itself on Sasuke's lips as he left the office to shower and leave Naruto to his work.

* * *

By the time Naruto was done with the work he had brought home, Kenta was just crawling into bed. Sasuke, after his shower, had joined the twins for their game in Jun's room in order to get some time in with them for the day.

Upon seeing the blonde enter the room, Kenta scooted over in bed, and Naruto took the extra space to lay down beside him. Propping his head on his hand, he reached over and pushed the child's hair out of his face. "Your dad is super proud of you for how well you did in your training today. I am too, and I can't wait to see what he taught you."

Kenta smiled a small smile, "He kept staring at me, though."

A blonde eyebrow raised in question. "He's supposed to, he was training you."

"No, he gazed off a few times when he would watch me. I tried really hard to get his attention a few times, and he would just smile at me really… I don't know. Affectionately? It's like he was thinking of someone else."

Naruto pursed his lips and ran his fingers comfortingly through Kenta's hair. "I think that sometimes you remind him of his older brother. He's never come out and told me, but I think you may look a lot like him when he was your age." Naruto knew that Sasuke had never really let go of Itachi, the regret, and what could have been. Kenta definitely had the appearance of an Uchiha, so he could only guess that it was Itachi that Sasuke was reminded of when he looked at their son.

"Oh," Kenta replied quietly. He sat still for a moment, quiet, and enjoying those fingers than ran through his hair. "Do you think it makes him sad?"

"I don't know. I think that more than anything he is just proud, to look at you and your accomplishments and it reminds him of himself and his brother when they were both your age. If anything, it may make him happy to see you and the path you will have in life, a path of happiness and success. That's all both of us could ask for, you know."

Kenta was quiet, and just enjoyed another few moments of his hair being played with. "Will you tell me a story? One from missions you've been on or something?"

Naruto grinned, "Good idea. Have I ever told you about the time your dad and I literally got stuck together during a mission?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, you're in for a wild ride…"

* * *

Kenta was asleep by the time Naruto finished his story. Carefully slipping from the boy's bed, he left and closed the door behind him. Sasuke was still in Jun's room playing whatever game they had been playing, and it looked like Ayumi was winning big time.

The girl was laughing wildly as Junichiro and Sasuke stared at her in what looked like horror, or maybe disbelief.

"I think you cheated." Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah, you definitely cheated." Jun affirmed, looking a little wide eyed.

Ayumi shrugged; there was an air of cockiness around her. "I most definitely did not. It's not my fault I'm so good at this game, and you guys suck."

Entering the room, Naruto sat in the floor between the twins. "Let me play next game, I want to try."

"Why, are you ready to lose too, mom?" The girl asked arrogantly.

Jun sighed, "She's almost impossible to beat."

"Hey, it's worth a shot, right?" Naruto asked as he was dealt into this game, he received a knowing look from Sasuke across from him. Naruto tried not to smile.

* * *

When they had finally bid the two genin goodnight, Naruto had beat Ayumi three times.

"Man, I haven't played that game since Grandma Tsunade still lived in Konoha." He thought about it for a moment. "Wow, that was before Kenta was even born."

"And you beat her worse than you beat Ayumi every time."

Entering their room, Naruto laughed and repeated the words their daughter had said earlier. "It's not my fault I'm so good at that game."

* * *

 **Coming up next: the plot thickens.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the lack of chapter last week. But, I do have my computer back and I will be continuing on with regularly scheduled chapters!**

 **Until next Tuesday I will be incredibly busy with school. However, I may have a short one-shot relating to the story to release next week with the new chapter as a way to apologize for not posting one next week. It really just depends on how well I can manage my time between finals, papers, and homework.**

* * *

The next morning, Naruto awoke with a familiar ache in his lower back. Groaning, the blonde sat up and looked down at his naked body to see bites and bruises across his tanned skin. Although Sasuke was currently not in bed with him, he knew that the man wouldn't look much better.

Pulling himself from the bed, Naruto stretched and got ready for his day. He could hear Sasuke in the kitchen making breakfast and talking to someone. As the blonde left the bedroom, he saw his husband with Hana on his hip, talking to her in the same way he would talk to any of the older children.

Approaching the two, Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek and pulled him into a quick good morning kiss. He stole a peek at Hana, who was drooling and just overjoyed to be held and talked to by her father.

"Someone's in a good mood today," Naruto pointed out.

"Aren't I usually when the sex is as good as it was last night?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly as he rolled eggs across a skillet.

Naruto couldn't help but to scoff. "Don't you tell me to watch my language around the children? What you just said is just as bad. Besides, I was talking about the baby." He poked Sasuke in the ribs, only to have the man flinch a bit. "Oh shit, I forgot about that. I'm sorry I kicked you last night."

Although, he didn't seem too remorseful as he tried to hide a smile by grabbing plates from the cabinet to set the table.

"You're not sorry in the slightest. But I would say we are even, considering the fact that you have a visible hickey on your collar bone."

An embarrassed flush made its presence on Naruto's cheeks as he slapped a hand over where he knew it would be. He'd had an inkling as to its formation last night from the smirk Sasuke had had on his face after making it. "I hate you."

"Keep telling yourself that." With his free hand, he carefully dumped the tamagoyaki he had been making on to a plate. "Breakfast is almost ready, do you want to go see if the kids are up?"

Naruto hummed. He was going to ask if Sasuke wanted him to take Hana, but the man was doing just fine with holding her while cooking, and the baby was just so happy where she was, watching him and everything he was doing while clutching his shirt.

By the time the kids were up and wrangled into the kitchen, Sasuke was just putting the last dish on the table.

The twins were bickering about something—which was nothing new, and quite frankly something they would be over by mid-morning at the latest. Kenta attempted to ignore them by working on the last bit of homework he had to turn in when he returned to the academy today. Sasuke had finally given up the baby and was asking Kenta harder questions about his homework than the assignment could have ever asked. This was often the only way to get the boy motivated enough to do his work because he always complained that it was too easy. And Naruto fed the baby between his own bites of breakfast, glad that she didn't have a fever and was smiling and happy.

After breakfast, the kids all went to get ready for their days and the two men cleaned up the kitchen, their teasing of each other from this morning continuing with verbal jabs at each other. Something Sasuke said had Naruto making fun of him and laughing so hard that he was bent over, tears gathering in his eyes when someone knocked on the door.

"Go get the door, " Sasuke muttered, sounding miffed. But the blonde knew that his husband was finding just as much humor in the situation from the small smile that was trying to make its way to his lips.

At the door, bright green eyes peered up at Naruto. "Good morning, Naruto-sama." The girl chirped, her light pink hair was tied into a bun. She had her mother's smile but sadly her eyebrows looked a little more like her father's.

"Good morning, Sayuri." Naruto returned just as brightly, letting the girl inside. "The twins are still getting ready, but they'll be out in a few minutes."

As if on cue, Ayumi appeared. "Sayu," she whined as her fingers made her way through her long black hair, braiding it was she walked. "Jun is being mean today, so watch out."

This cued Junichiro's appearance, and he immediately rolled his eyes. "No, you're just being stupid. If you just listened to me, I wouldn't be "mean" to you."

In the doorway, Sayuri just smiled pleasantly, completely use to their antics.

After the twins toed on their sandals, they both gave Naruto a hug and said their good byes, calling one to Sasuke as they left. "Be safe, and don't be late for dinner." Naruto called after them before closing the door and returning to the kitchen.

"Sayuri will have her hands full today if they keep this up." Sasuke remarked as he finished wiping down the counter top. "At least they're going out for independent training while Konohamaru is out on a mission, or he would work them to the bone today in annoyance."

The two bickered quite often, almost as much as he and Sasuke did. But, the twins each took parts of their parent's personalities, which caused them to get on each other's nerves more often than not. But at the end of the day, they were still brother and sister and they would make up and have a few days of peace between them.

"They'll be over it by lunch time. Besides, hopefully going out for the day will help them get rid of some energy." The blonde gave Sasuke a grin, and then heard a sigh from behind him.

Naurto turned around and drew a nervous looking Kenta into a tight hug. The boy buried his face in Naruto's stomach and squeezed back. "It will be okay. Teruo-sensei has been dealt with by the head of the academy, and he is sorry for what he said. Just get through the day, and if you want to come to my office during your lunch break, you can come and talk with us. We have a relatively open schedule today, so we'll be there if you need us, okay?"

Kenta nodded and pulled away from the blonde.

"He already feels like a fool for what he said, now go in and make him look even more stupid for ever doubting you." Sasuke advised, ruffling the boy's hair before handing him a bento.

"And if he ever says anything like he did again, we'll kick his ass." Naruto piped enthusiastically.

That finally got the boy to give a small smile.

"Yeah, what your mom said, but without the language. Now go on, or you'll be late."

Hugging both of them, Kenta continued to smile. "Thanks mom and dad."

He was then out the door and on his way to the academy.

Naruto picked up Hana so he could get her ready for daycare. "I'd say we're pretty good at this parenting thing sometimes."

Sasuke couldn't help but to smile. "For once, I agree with you."

* * *

They were headed to the southern training ground for their solo training. Sayuri was walking in front of them chatting lively, in an attempt to keep them from bickering again. She was good at that. With Sayuri's mom being as close to their parents as she was, the three of them had grown up together as best friends. They also knew that if they fought any more, the girl may lose her temper and her fists would fly. And that girl was terrifyingly strong for a thirteen year old.

Welcoming the distraction, Junichiro was listening to the Sayuri's idle chatting. But something caught his attention, and he swore he saw someone in a white, hooded cloak to his left. But just as soon as they were there, they disappeared again.

From the way that Sayuri kept talking, he could tell that she hadn't seen anything. However, Ayumi tensed up next to him and he knew that she was aware of their presence. And then he realized, there were two people following them. This was the first time he had ever seen one of them, and if they felt the need to conceal their identity then they had to be dangerous.

Junichiro felt his blood pumping strongly in his veins, a sense of foreboding washing over him. Ayumi reached out and took his hand, linking their fingers together to steady herself, but he could feel how nervous his twin was by how tightly she squeezed his hand. He was positive now from how alert Ayumi seemed that the same people who had been following him were following his sister and most likely their younger brother. And he didn't know what he should do, or what they would do. Would they attack them, and would the three genin even be able to fight back against them?

As soon as they were in the clearing of the training ground, their followers were gone, though. Looking around, Junichiro noticed someone lounging against a large tree with their hands in their pockets, and their eyes searching the woods behind them before directing their gaze directly at the children.

"I feel like I am experiencing déjà vu seeing you three walk out of the trees like that, except you're much prettier than your father, Ayumi." The person said with a certain laissez-faire quality.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sayuri chirped upon seeing the man, still unaware of what had just transpired.

Letting himself relax now that the man was here, Jun squeezed Ayumi's hand in an effort to get her to relax as well. He knew that as long as Kakashi was here, they would be safe and no one would dare approach them. And by the way that his sister slowly let go of his hand, the blonde could tell that the girl agreed.

"Where is Konohamaru? Are you meeting him here, or are the three of you by yourselves for the day?"

Sayuri was the one to answer as the twins continued to try and calm their nerves. "Konohamaru-sensei is on a mission so we are doing solo training. What are you doing here, though?"

"Oh, I was trying to find a nice, quiet place to write for the day. Dear Iruka-sensei has kicked me out of the house, saying that I was getting on his nerves and spending too much time working hard, and that I need to experience nature more." Though all three kids knew that even if that was the truth, it was only partially true.

Looking over at Ayumi, Jun pursed his lips. They both still had a nagging feeling at the back of their minds that there was definitely something wrong. They knew that if Kakashi left them along in the training ground, then they would be open targets. He locked eyes with Ayumi before talking. "Well, why don't you experience nature by helping us train for the day?" Junichiro offered, praying that the man would stay. Sayuri happily seconded the request, and Ayumi relaxed considerably at the thought.

Kakashi appeared to actually think about it for a moment, but in reality he would not leave these grounds until the children did. He would make sure that they were safe, especially knowing that Naruto and Sasuke were not yet aware of the possible danger that their children were in. "Well, I suppose that I can spare the time to work with you kids if you really want it."

Throughout the day, the twins were able to slowly melt away the anxiety that they had been faced with that morning and focus on their training. It was fun, and for the three genin it was quite an experience to be able to train with the man who had played a pivotal role in teaching their parents.

Kakashi even walked back to the main part of the village with the children and listened to their chatter until Sayuri pulled away to go home. And once it was only the three of them, he looked at the twins critically. "You really need to talk to your parents about what's been happening. Who knows what would have happened had I not been there today. For the time being, you two shouldn't be going anywhere without an experienced adult, and neither should Kenta, quite frankly. He is a much easier target since he is younger than you two, you know, and if you don't say something now then it may be too late when you do say something."

"We'll talk to them today, Kakashi-sensei." Ayumi promised quietly. It was rare for them to see the man look so serious. Growing up, he had babysat them quite a few times and was the one who let them do whatever they wanted when Iruka wasn't around. He had always regarded them with a laissez-faire style, making sure they were safe and cared for, but having fun with them or making fun of them more often than not. He was nearly like an uncle to them, a lazy and aloof yet flamboyant uncle, and seeing him look so concerned about their safety was disconcerting.

Satisfied, the man finally pulled his gaze away from the children. "Good, now come on and I will walk with you two to the office."

Once in the administration building, the trio ran into Sasuke and Iruka leaving the afternoon shift at the mission desk. Upon seeing her father, Ayumi immediately threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"Are you letting Naruto push his obligations on to you, Sasuke?" Kakashi teased the Uchiha.

Patting the girl's back, he shrugged. "No, I made him stay in his office and work on paperwork. You could build a forest with the amount of papers stacked on his desk." Surprised when Ayumi didn't let him go, he glanced down at the girl and could suddenly feel her apprehension. Looking to Junichiro, he could see that his son didn't look to be fairing much better. He was curious about why his two oldest children looked anxious.

"And what about you, weren't you going to stay home and work on your novel all day? You have a deadline soon." Iruka chided, looking sternly at Kakashi.

The former Hokage rubbed the back of his neck, completely use to being lectured about his lack of productivity. "I saw a dainty butterfly and decided to follow it. It was quite pretty."

Completely unsatisfied with the answer he received, Iruka hummed disapprovingly. "Please don't make your editor cry again." Turning to leave, he bid goodbye to Sasuke and the twins before leading Kakashi back towards his classroom so that he could grab his work and return home.

Finally prying Ayumi from his body, Sasuke placed an arm across her shoulders and did the same to Jun before leading them to Naruto's office. "And what is wrong with you two? You're not still arguing, are you?"

"No." Junichiro responded quietly. "But we need to talk to you and mom."

Sasuke was now concerned, and he looked to his children uneasily. He wasn't aware of it at this point, but the issue at hand would lead to a series of event that were near disastrous. Events that would forever change the peaceful lives of his children.


	8. Chapter 8

**So I may have lied about that extra story. But then again, I've been pretty freaking busy with finals and papers. I started it and it's turning out to be longer than I expected. However, I am done with school after tomorrow, so I will try and post it during the week.**

 **So enjoy the chapter, some questions are answered here.**

* * *

It was when Naruto had huffed and forcefully rolled over for the fourth time in the last twenty minutes that Sasuke felt like he was about to lose his mind. It had been after the second time that he had released him from the hold he usually kept him in when they had slept and retreated to the other side of the bed. In retrospect, the Uchiha knew that that had probably been the wrong thing to do, seeing as the reason he slept so close to the blonde was to keep him still in the first place.

Both of them had been on edge all evening, since the twins had revealed to them that people were following them. They hadn't exactly been able to talk about it away from the children. However, they had sat the three of them down and talked to them about not going anywhere without someone who was at least at chunin level being with them. The twins obviously felt embarrassed that they couldn't take care of themselves, but they hadn't argued. The two of them had seemed pretty shaken up today, so Sasuke didn't blame them. But as a result, the two men had been irritable all evening, which usually led them to fighting.

Naruto yet again huffed and shifted positions.

"Do that one more time, and I'll smother you with a pillow." Sasuke snapped.

This caused Naruto to sit straight up in bed, irritation written all over his face. "What, Sasuke? Do you really blame me for being so anxious? They're back, and they are after our children this time. As if last time they messed with me wasn't bad enough, what if something worse happens this time? What if one of our children dies this time?"

He spoke loudly, clearly upset. Sasuke was actually surprised that he hadn't woken Hana in her nursery next door with how loud he was.

"Don't yell," Sasuke hissed as he too sat up. "We will manage, okay? We will get this figured out and we will keep them safe. Tomorrow we will go and talk to Sai and Yamato and we will have anbu trail the children wherever they go."

That didn't placate the blonde and he got out of bed. "You act like this doesn't bother you at all, you aren't acting the least bit scared that something bad will happen to our children."

Sasuke scoffed and also slipped from the bed. Now standing, his arms were crossed and his face stern. "How could you say that? It's killing me inside, and I'm worried sick. But unlike you, I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve. You of all people should know that. If I were to act even the slightest bit worried then you would freak out even more and we don't need that, us or the kids."

"I would feel better if you weren't so stoic about this whole thing. I need you to do something, show some concern."

"I am doing something. I'm trying to placate you, but it obviously isn't working. It's going to be okay." He stressed the last few words. "Like I said, we will go speak to Sai and Yamato tomorrow and get them some protection. The anbu will ensure that they stay safe."

Natruto growled and pulled at his hair in frustration. "They've gotten past the anbu before. And look what happened there. I couldn't protect Kenta from them, and what happened to him was bad enough."

"Stop blaming yourself for that."

Naruto was now pacing. "Why shouldn't I? It was my fault, I was supposed to protect him, only I could do it and I failed. I failed miserably and he almost died before he was even born."

"How were you supposed to know that they were going to poison you? How was anyone supposed to know that there was something that is only poisonous to bijuu and their jinchuriki? It effected Killer Bee and even Gaara too, they didn't see it coming either."

"But they weren't six months pregnant, Sasuke."

Naruto's voice had cracked, and Sasuke could easily see how upset his husband was. He knew that Naruto would never stop blaming himself, no matter how much he hoped that the man would. And it obviously didn't help that lunatics were currently after their children. His annoyance seemed to melt away. He couldn't stand seeing Naruto like this, looking so defenseless. If there was one thing that Naruto wasn't, it was defenseless. The man was strong, both mentally and physically, and he didn't let stuff like this get to him for long. That's one thing Sasuke adored about him. But here Naruto was, terrified and needing help, and Sasuke knew that he was only making it worse.

Crossing to the other side of the bed, the Uchiha pulled Naruto into a tight hug. Naruto fought it at first, trying to push Sasuke away. However, after a few moments of fighting, the blonde knew that Sasuke wouldn't let go and gave up. They were both upset, both scared about what was going to potentially happen. But Sasuke would be dammed if he let this fight escalate any farther. He knew that the last thing they needed to do was fight. Naruto knew it too, but his mind was too clouded to actually think straight.

It took the blonde a few moments before he was able to gain control over his body and squeeze Sasuke back. He laid his forehead on the man's shoulder and gave a shuddering sigh. He was scared, terrified. He didn't even want to think about what could happen to his children if these people really decided to come after them.

If there was one thing that Naruto strove to do, it was protect his children and give them a good life. He wanted more than anything to ensure that they were always happy, that the never held even a fraction of the sadness and loneliness that he himself felt as a child. So he tried to be home as much as possible despite his duties as Hokage. He loved his job and the village, but he loved his family even more.

Sasuke pressed a kiss to Naruto's head before leaning his cheek against his soft blonde hair. "We will make this work. Look at everything we have done in our lives, do you really think this is going to be the thing that we won't be able to overcome? No one messes with our family, and they will learn that quite quickly. We are Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, the only one stronger than either of us is each other. Right?"

"Right," Naruto mumbled against Sasuke's skin, starting to feel just slightly better. Naruto soaked up the warmth of the Uchiha and the tight hold that he was in. He felt restrained against the other man. In any other circumstance, he would not be comfortable in this situation, but knowing that is was Sasuke, feeling his love, he felt okay.

"Good. Now let's go back to bed. No one is going to even think of touching the kids when we're around. Plus, you have a meeting with your council tomorrow, and if you fall asleep, they'll make you regret it. Again… Besides, you know you'll need the energy if we have to talk to Sai tomorrow."

That finally had Naruto starting to relax even the slightest bit, and he pulled away from Sasuke after a few more moments of soaking up the man's comforting warmth. He gave the faintest smile. "I love you, bastard."

Sasuke brushed a light kiss to his cheek. "I know, idiot."

* * *

With his door open, it was easy to hear his parent's raised voices from their room. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he knew that whatever they were fighting about, it was because of what he and Ayumi had told them earlier.

They had been shocked to say the least. And then for the rest of the evening they kept glancing worried glances at each other or at him or his younger siblings. Their parents were definitely on edge, and he could understand why. But what he didn't understand was why they seemed to know exactly who it was who was following them. In his thirteen years of life, he could never remember anyone trying to hurt him or his siblings. The worst thing he could think of was when Kenta was born prematurely, causing him to lead a life with weak lungs that sometimes collapsed when he got ill or too stressed out. But he doubted that his brother's birth had anything to do with this. Babies were born prematurely all the time, after all.

Hearing a noise from his doorway, Junichiro rolled over to see Ayumi quietly standing there with a blanket wrapped around her and her pillow in her arms. She had been oddly clingy today, and he knew that she was really scared about whatever was going on. His usually boisterous, funny, idiot of a sister was never this quiet and anxious.

With a sigh, Jun gathered his own blanket closer to himself and scooted over to the edge of his bed. And Ayumi took that as an invitation and entered his room. Crawling onto his bed, she got comfortable on the opposite side, facing her twin. She reached out her hand, and the blonde once again obliged her by reaching out his own and linking their fingers. Although he would never admit it, her presence did comfort him. They had a close bond despite how often they argued and bickered. And their parents ensured that no matter how badly they argued that they made up before bed at night because they were a family, and a family's job was to love each other with every fiber of their being.

As the voices of their parents finally quieted he could hear Ayumi inhale deeply. "I'm scared, Jun." She whispered.

"I know, I am too. But no matter what, we're in this together, and mom and dad will protect us. We just have to be careful and train harder. And we need to watch out for Kenta and Hana."

"What's going on? Why would anyone want to follow us, we're nothing special, right?" Ayumi was quiet, but her anxiety was loud in the dark, quiet room.

"I don't know. Mom and dad seem to know something that we don't, and they're probably going to keep us in the dark as long as they can. They don't want to trouble us, but whatever is happening is definitely troubling me." Junichiro scoffed to himself, if there was one thing he hated more than anything else, it was being kept from information. He wanted to know everything; he liked making plans and setting them in action and the lack of information was killing him.

Ayumi sighed. "Kakashi-sensei knew what was happening. Do you think he would tell us anything?"

"No, Ayumi, he wouldn't. It's up to mom and dad to talk to us about it, we will just have to try and pry it from them, okay?"

Squeezing his hand, Ayumi nodded. "We'll be okay, right?"

Junichiro tried to give her the most realistically reassuring smile, even though he himself wasn't so sure of it. "Yeah, we will be."

* * *

Naruto could remember the exact moment he had first asked himself why he had appointed Sai as one of the heads of the anbu. He had thought that by also having Yamato lead with him then it would have been fine. But no. And when Naruto personally needed anything from them he was always met with the same shit-eating grin.

"Dickless."

Sure, the man really had come a long way when it came to emotion and friendship and everything. But that didn't mean that his favorite thing to do wasn't to try and get a rise out of Naruto every chance he got. It was worse for Sasuke, as the two men had never really seen eye to eye in the first place. But, they got along well enough with enough threats from Naruto. Now if only he could get the man to stop using that nickname.

"Sai, please, they're here on business." Yamato sighed, serving tea to Naruto and Sasuke.

They were in Yamato's office for the meeting. Seeing as this was a favor instead of actual business of the village, Sasuke and Naruto had come to see them in person.

"Not necessarily," Naruto said with a sigh. "Actually, we need your help with something a little more personal."

"Oh, you need a favor from us? Only if we get something good in return."

Man did Naruto hate the smile that Sai had stretched across his lips.

"You won't get my foot up your ass, how about that?" Naruto snapped. Sasuke calmed him down with a gentle hand on his arm.

Yamato took a seat as his desk and looked wearily to his associate. "We work under Naruto, Sai. He doesn't need to owe us anything. Stop trying to get a rise out of him and sit down." Normally Sai was much more professional when it came to business, unless Naruto was directly involved, then he was all taunts and teasing.

"Oh, fine, fine." The pale man said as he took a seat, looking more serious as he did so. "What can we do for you?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment, trying to find the way to explain their situation.

"People have been following our children lately. But only when they're alone, if anyone who is above genin standing is around them, then they run away." Sasuke explained as he picked up his cup of tea.

"Do you have any idea as to who it could be?" Yamato queried.

Pursing his lips, Naruto nodded. "We are positive that it's those damned Kyoshinja."

"Those crazy zealots? Weren't you just trying to track them for four months, Uchiha?" Sai asked, after sharing a glance with Yamato.

"I was." Sasuke confirmed. "But they are tight lipped and hard to infiltrate. And I know that you two know that well. But their numbers have grown since the last time we tracked them. Quite a bit. And they still seem to have one goal in mind."

"To punish the jinchuriki." Supplied Yamato.

"Right. We don't know if it is only our children, or if they are following Wakana or Kaito as well. I haven't talked to Bee or Gaara about it quite yet." Naruto explained.

Sai leaned back and crossed his arms. "We have yet to receive any reports from our men about them being in this village. If they haven't sensed them yet, then it must mean trouble."

"That's the issue." Sasuke said. "We haven't either. It seems the only way to sense them is if you're close to them. So the only ones who have sensed them have been the twins, and according to them, Kakashi and Iruka as well."

"So you need us to have people trail the twins everywhere they go, right?" Checked Yamato.

"And Kenta too. We don't want to take any chances. Hana should be fine since she is always in the administration building for daycare. But Kenta is old enough to wander the village alone, and we want to make sure he is safe should he choose to do so." Naruto explained. "We want to have all of our bases covered."

Yamato nodded, "That's understandable. We will get a team on them as soon as possible. We will have one person watching each child at all times, and we will have your personal team keep an eye on the daycare while Hana is there. We won't take any chances."

Looking relieved, Naruto nodded. "Thank you."

He felt better knowing that his children would have that extra net of protection watching over them at all hours. Hopefully it would keep the crazy Kyoshinja away from his children. And Naruto knew that he would need to talk to Gaara and Bee to see if their children were in harms way as well. Although it didn't make sense to Naruto why they would go after Gaara's son since the man had lost his bijuu so many years ago, the man was still up for target.

These people formed a group after the Great War. They had seen what Madara had tried to do with the tailed beasts and blamed them for the destruction that had happened and since then, Naruto, Killer Bee, and Gaara had been their prime targets. Though they had only tried to mess with them only a few times, and they would retreat back into the shadows after every attempt, the men knew that they were in fact very dangerous. And the fact that these people weren't above going after their children made it that much worse.

"Uchiha, do you have any information you can give us from staking them out?" Sai asked.

Pulling out a docket he had brought with them, Sasuke handed it to the man. "Of course. I wasn't able to get as much as I liked, but I was able to gather some intell that we had not yet discovered. Their organization has really grown and they are tight lipped, they are willing to protect their cause in any way."

"That's okay, anything helps. We will keep a vigilant eye on them and see if we can't figure out what they're plotting. But if they're as quiet about it as you say, it will be hard to track them. We will do everything we can to keep your children safe, though." Yamato took the papers from Sai and gave them a once over.

"Thank you." Sasuke said as he stood up. Naruto followed suit.

"It's no problem, we're here to help you." Sai muttered, his tone sarcastic and that grin that Naruto hated on his face once again.

Scoffing, Naruto turned to leave and Sasuke trailed after him. Once they were outside Naruto found himself reaching for Sasuke's hand for comfort though, and the man willingly supplied it, linking their fingers together. Never one for silence, he felt the need to say something, so he looked to Sasuke and said the first thing that popped into his mind. "So ramen for lunch, yeah?"

Sasuke hummed and rubbed the back of Naruto's hand with his thumb. "If it makes you feel better."

"Of course it will."


	9. Chapter 9

**Ayyyyyeeeee, I'm an awful author. However, I had terrible writer's block with this chapter. That, and I've been working like a fool since graduation. However, now that I have this chapter completed, I can launch forward with the next few chapters. So I greatly apologize for my absence.**

* * *

Naruto was always wistful when it rained. Sasuke couldn't recall whether it had always been like that, but he easily recalled the moment he had realized it.

It had been after Kenta was born, when Naruto was able to come home from the hospital, but Kenta hadn't been strong enough to breath on his own. It had been snowing all week, but in the middle of the night on their second day home it had warmed up just enough for the snow to turn into freezing rain. He'd found Naruto outside on his hands and knees, the most heart wrenching sobs escaping his lips. The blonde had blamed himself for everything; he had been the entire time, and now being home without the baby… It had broken him. It had taken an hour to coax Naruto inside and get him warm enough that he wasn't violently shivering. And Sasuke had been terrified. It had taken two weeks and three different medications to get Naruto back to even a fraction of his normal self.

Since then, every time it rained and especially when it stormed, Naruto was pensive. It was even worse when something was bothering him.

And it was currently storming.

Sasuke had woken up near two in the morning to a clap of thunder and found the bed beside him empty. Pulling himself from bed, Sasuke searched for his husband, finding him on a balcony on the second floor. He was sitting down against the back wall where it was dry with a blanket wrapped around him, and Hana in his arms. She was at the age where she could recognize the thunder and she obviously didn't like it and didn't want to be alone. But Naruto was keeping her calm, speaking quietly to her and telling her a story.

Leaving wordlessly, Sasuke moved to the kitchen and put on some tea. He made two cups and brought it back to the balcony, sitting down next to the blonde with the cups between them. Naruto looked to him gratefully and put the baby's weight into one arm so that he could take a drink. After their talks with Sai and Yamato, they had gone to lunch and gotten back to work. They had both attempted to put themselves into their tasks, but the matter at hand still bothered the two of them.

"I keep telling myself that they're protected. That we don't need to worry as much because we have the anbu to protect them. But I know that if they're getting serious enough to return that nothing will stop them, and that thought is what bothers me." Naruto spoke quietly, his gaze on the lightning in the distance, but he was still working to comfort the baby. "And I keep telling myself that even if their protection fails, that we will be there to save them. But it doesn't always work that way."

Taking the warm mug in his hands, Sasuke followed Naruto's line of sight and watched the storm. "We've worked so long to protect them," Sasuke acknowledged. "To make sure that their lives are better than the ones we had growing up." He looked at Naruto. "But we can't protect them from everything. Things are going to happen in their lives outside of our control, outside of their control. However, those things are going to be what shapes them, what will help each them to grow up and be the adults they were destined to be. And we will be there to soften the blows and help them as much as humanly possible. That's what I keep trying to tell myself, at least."

Naruto looked back at him, silent for a moment. "Does it help?"

A sigh spilled from the Sasuke's lips. "I'm not sure, to be honest. But I want to believe it, I want to believe that our children are as strong as we were at their age, both mentally and physically. That even if we fail them, that they will come out on top and stronger than ever. They're not entirely invincible, and neither are we. But it helps to believe that they are, that we are, that our family is. That, I know."

A soft smile came over Naruto's lips and he looked down at the now sleeping baby in his arms. "Yeah. I think that helps." The blonde leaned against him, and Sasuke put his mug down in favor of wrapping an arm around Naruto. "When did you get so good at the emotional stuff?"

Sasuke hummed. "I don't know, I think somewhere in the last thirteen years or so, a certain idiot began to rub off on me."

Naruto gave a quiet, breathy laugh and for the remainder of the storm, the two of them watched it together in silence.

* * *

Although the storms stopped, it rained all morning. Sasuke had taken a meeting while Naruto had attended another first thing in the morning. After those two meetings, the day held nothing but paperwork and planning.

After his meeting Sasuke returned home to grab some papers from the home office to work on with Naruto.

All of the children were home, the twins didn't have a mission, the academy had no class today, and Hana was kept at home with her older siblings. It was the first day that they were under full watch of the anbu, and he had been worried about how they would be dealing with it. However, they were all spending time together and seemed okay.

The kids seemed to be enjoying the rainy day all together in the living room, lounging about. Ayumi was laying in the floor napping, with Hana next to her and also asleep. Kenta had been reading on the couch, but he was also asleep with his book laying open on his stomach. Junichiro was on the other end of the couch with his knees pulled to his chest actively reading, the only one awake. He glanced up when he felt Sasuke in the room and raised a blonde eyebrow. The man gently ruffled the boy's hair as he passed him.

Besides the occasional—nearly daily—spat between the twins, the children got along really well and Sasuke could not be more grateful for that. The twins were caring and responsible older siblings who enjoyed spending time with Kenta and Hana. They were always helpful when he and Naruto needed them. Also, Kenta was good with Hana as well and would often help feed her or sit in the floor and read to her. Sasuke wouldn't trade his children for the world. They were happy and enjoyed their lives and Sasuke did not want that to change for them. That's why he would protect them at all costs.

Sasuke grabbed the papers he needed, and on his way out, he dug in his pocket and as he passed Jun, pressed a few bills onto the page of the book he was reading. The blonde looked up in surprise, and Sasuke ruffled his hair again, causing the boy to look slightly annoyed. "When the rain lets up, go out for lunch with your younger siblings. Or go see a movie, go to the bookstore. Don't be cooped up all day because you feel like you need to. Tonight, mom or I will make dinner and we'll all eat together."

A smile broke out across Jun's lips and he pocketed the money. "Thanks, dad."

Sasuke gave a hum of acknowledgement and left the residence. Although he would rather them stay at home all together where they were safest, he didn't want them to feel confined. He also wanted to spoil them just a little today, letting the twins shirk a little bit of responsibility for the day while they were home and enjoy their day off. He and Naruto were often busy with work, and his two eldest children did a lot to help them out. Sometimes they looked for ways to lessen their load and thank them. And of course, at the end of the day the two of them always tried to be home for dinner to spend time as a family.

In the office, Naruto was standing and facing the large windows behind his desk. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had the Hokage coat draped over his shoulders, seeming cold. The blonde turned for a slight moment to acknowledge his entrance before his gaze went back to the window, all of Konoha was spread out before him, the streets nearly empty as the rain fell.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked, setting the papers down on Naruto's desk.

The blonde hummed, "Yeah. I just needed to stand and stretch my legs after sitting in that meeting all morning. And the village just looks so peaceful and quiet."

Sasuke approached him, and wrapped his arms around the man's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. They stood there in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's company and warmth until Sasuke repeated, "You're sure you're okay?"

Naruto sighed, "I'm sure. I just needed a moment of quiet to slow down my thoughts."

After a moment of standing there together, Natuto began to relax into his hold. "How are the kids, they were home, right?"

Sasuke hummed. "Yeah, they were all in the living room. Everyone but Jun was asleep, so they're all fine. I gave them money to get out of the house when the rain lets up."

"Yeah," Naruto said quietly. "That sounds good. They need to try and be normal even under watch."

There was more silence. A kiss was pressed to Naruto's neck, and Sasuke then pressed against him to lay another to his jaw. Naruto slowly turned in Sasuke's arms and looped is own around the man's neck, resting their foreheads together.

Sasuke knew that Naruto's thoughts got ahead of him sometimes, and that he just needed help to reel them in. Unlike himself, Naruto wasn't the best at thinking rationally, so this situation was taking a toll on him.

Rubbing Naruto's lower back, Sasuke pressed a light kiss to his lips for a moment before their foreheads came together again and they enjoyed the moment together.

But then, the door opened suddenly and there was a weary sigh. "I'm going back to Suna."

Naruto's head shot up and he looked at the newcomer. "Shikamaru!" The blonde chirped, stepping away from Sasuke, the quiet, contemplative mood now gone.

Shikamaru looked wet and tired, and slightly annoyed. He was Naruto's other advisor, so the three of them worked together quite closely and he always seemed to catch them when they were having even the slightest moment of intimacy in the office. Although sometimes Sasuke would let them get caught just to annoy Shikamaru.

He liked the man, but at the same time he was just so easy to pick on. After Naruto had gotten pregnant with the twins, and thus was unable to go on missions, he had been paired as teammates with Shikamaru and Kiba. He'd always gotten along much better with lazy Shikamaru than the wild Kiba, but the three of them had spent quite a bit of time making fun of each other and teasing each other. It was a bearable team.

Catching the brunette's eyes, Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smirked as Shikamaru made his way into the office and plopped on to the couch at the front of the room, slouching while he sat. Shikamaru glowered at him until Naruto got his attention.

"You've missed a lot of stuff while you were gone." Naruto informed Shikamaru as he took his chair behind his desk.

"You mean like you volunteering to host the Chunin Exams?" Shikamaru queried, unamused.

Naruto flushed, "No! Well, yeah. I'm sorry about that, by the way. But you were just in Suna, do you really think Gaara would be able to host it this half? He didn't need that stress." Shikamaru did give a nod of acknowledgement to that. "That's not quite what I meant, though."

Interested, Shikamaru stroked his beard as an eyebrow rose. "Oh, then what could I have missed?"

Sasuke moved to Naruto's left and the blonde looked to him, seeking a way to start. The Uchiha gave him a small nod, telling him to just start.

"Was…" The blonde was a little hesitant at first. "Was Kaito acting oddly while you were there?"

The man on the couch looked between the two in front of him. "You mean in any odd way besides that of a thirteen year old who just lost his mother?" But the two just gazed back at him. "Well… he did seem pretty anxious the day before we left. And he acted a bit agitated the next day. I just passed it off as part of his mourning, why?"

This time when Naruto looked at Sasuke, the Uchiha could see worry in those blue eyes. Sasuke felt it too. "So, he didn't say anything about it? He didn't say anything to Gaara?" Naruto clarified.

"Not that I know of." Shikamaru responded. The way that his eyes drifted between him and Naruto, Sasuke knew that he could sense their worry. "Why, should he have an alternative explanation for his behavior?"

So Sasuke began explaining the situation with the twins, how they knew people had been following them and how they had narrowed it down to being the Kyoshinja. Naruto filled in bits and pieces around Sasuke's explanation until they had Shikamaru up to date on the issue. And Shikamaru sat there the entire time, stroking his beard and listening intently. Sasuke knew that his quick mind was calculating the entire thing, making connections and hypotheses.

"This is troubling." Shikamaru finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Indeed." Sasuke muttered, looking to Naruto who was fiddling with his fingers.

Naruto looked up to return his gaze, eyebrows furrowed. "I should call Gaara and Bee."

Shikamaru stood from the couch. "You should. Is there anything else I should know? Or anything I need to do?"

Shaking his head, Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "No, go home and rest for the day. You can start back tomorrow."

Placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder, Sasuke looked between him and Shikamaru. "Why don't you make your calls? I will fill in Shikamaru on everything else and go get us some lunch."

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Shikamaru."

The man raised a hand as if to say goodbye as Sasuke led him out of the office.

Once the door was closed, Shikamaru looked to Sasuke. "So how is Naruto handling this?"

"Not too well." Sasuke responded. "But then again, he's better than he could be."

"He blames himself." It wasn't a question.

It didn't need a response, because they both knew that it was the truth. "I think he needs some time to digest it all. We both do."

Shikamaru eyed him. "You're worried. It's rare that you show your emotions like that."

There was a noise of acknowledgement. "It's only natural, right? This is my family after all."

As they made it to the main doors of the administrative building, Shikamaru glanced at him. "The entire village has your back. Hell, not just the village, but also the other nations. No matter what happens, people will be there for you."

Sasuke have him a look that had a hint of gratefulness to it. "I guess you're right."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What else is new?" He asked cockily before stepping into the rain, which was beginning to lighten.

A snort came from Sasuke as he also exited the building and went his own way.

* * *

Naruto was just hanging up the phone when Sasuke returned with their lunch. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed.

Sasuke looked at him with a question in his eyes, and Naruto answered it without his husband having to say anything. "Killer Bee said that he and Wakana talked about it last night, that they're following her too. And Gaara said that Kaito hasn't mentioned anything about it to him, but that he's on a mission so he'll talk to him when he returns. But, Gaara has noticed that Kaito's been agitated within the last few days."

"He probably just doesn't want to put anything more on his father's plate. But by doing so, it may only make things worse if he doesn't open up." Sasuke muttered as he laid out their lunch.

"Hopefully he will now that Gaara knows about it." Naruto sighed again. "But, like our children, the two of them will now have protection on them at all times. And Bee will be coming with Darui to the Kage Summit in a few weeks, so the three of us will talk about it more during that time, and with the other Kage as well."

Sitting across from Naruto, Sasuke nodded. "With the other Kage aware, we will have others to help us. It's not just on our backs."

"I know." Naruto muttered, opening his lunch.

Following suit, Sasuke gave Naruto a light look. "Let's not worry about this for now. We should eat and get our work done because I promised the kids that one of us would cook dinner and we'd have family night tonight." He picked up something from the floor that looked like a board game. "And I picked up a game for all of us to play."

Naruto took it and smiled, looking over the game. "I like that plan. I'm gonna kick your ass at this game."

"Keep telling yourself that."

* * *

That night, there was a lot of laughter in the household. Everyone but the baby got involved in the game, but Hana sat with them the entire time soaking in the happiness. Despite the worry that everyone in the house held, and the feeling that the happiness wouldn't last for long, they let it go and enjoyed their time together. And much to everyone's surprise, Naruto did kick Sasuke's ass at the game.


	10. Chapter 10

**I feel like this chapter kind of sucks, and is a bit repetitive. But, I am actually getting this chapter released on time. So, forgive me.**

* * *

"Remember that we won't be here to wake you up if you oversleep. Speaking of sleep, make sure that you're listening for Hana at night in case she wakes up. If Kenta gets sick, you go straight to Sakura. And if you need any help with anything, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are available to help you. Please don't let the trash pile up. And…"

"Mom," Ayumi groaned, slumping down on the couch.

Naruto was facing his three oldest children, who were sitting on the couch in the living room. Sasuke stood quietly behind him cuddling Hana as Naruto lectured the twins and Kenta. Naruto knew he was being a worrywart, and he would verbally admit it. However, he also hated leaving the kids home alone, especially with them being in danger.

"This isn't our first time being here without you two, we know how to be home alone for two weeks." Junichiro muttered, looking bored.

"We know, Jun." Sasuke said calmly. "But, you haven't been here overnight without us with Hana yet. That, and with all of you being under watch with what's been happening, we are worried about you."

They had wanted to bring the kids with them to the Kage Summit. However, the twins had a mission the next week that they'd accidentally been scheduled, and Kenta had important exams this week that they couldn't keep him from. With the three of them staying home, it meant there would be no one to help them with Hana while they were in meetings, so they decided to keep her here as well.

So, the twins would be running the house for the first week, and then when they left for their mission Kenta and Hana would be staying with Iruka and Kakashi. The two men would be on call in case the kids needed anything, and Naruto knew that they would do everything to watch over the kids and make sure they were comfortable without him and Sasuke there. And while they were gone, Kakashi would be acting as a sort of interim Hokage and Shikamaru would remain in office to advise and do most of the work. Sasuke would have stayed behind with the kids and to take over the village. However, the man was on a committee with two other advisors and they would be meeting in conjunction to the Summit.

Naruto was weary about leaving the kids alone tomorrow when he and Sasuke left for Iwagakure. He had a bad feeling about them being alone. However, there were teams of anbu who would be watching the kids the entire time, and there were adults willing to come help the kids at the first sign of trouble whether it be because of the Kyoshinja or not.

"Just promise me," Naruto pleaded. "Promise me that the three of you will be careful and attentive. Promise me that if anything seems off for any reason, that you will get help. Please. Please just try and think about how worried your dad and I will be about the four of you while we're gone. We just need to make sure you'll be okay." He had a hopeful look in his eyes as he made eye contact with each child individually. They went from looking bored to sitting up a little more. They knew that this was a serious matter, Naruto knew they did, but they were still kids who felt like they were being babied because of how worried he and Sasuke were acting towards them about this trip.

"We promise." Kenta was the first to answer, his big black eyes focused on Naruto. Junichiro and Ayumi echoed the statement, which helped Naruto to relax a little.

"Good. Thank you." He gave the kids an encouraging smile. "You know that I'd be finicky with you guys whether or not you were under guard right now, right? As your mom, it's my job to worry about you all the time."

Behind him Sasuke snorted. "That's enough lecturing, idiot. If you don't let them go now, Kenta will be late for classes and the twins for training."

"Fine. You guys can go, and have a good day." Naruto huffed, not ready to let the kids go and still wanting to make sure they were ready for the next two weeks. But, he couldn't help but to smile when Ayumi wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. He petted her dark hair and kissed the top of her head before the boys also joined in the hug. And then, Naruto decided to pull Sasuke into the large hug as well.

"Alright, alright." Sasuke said with a sigh. Although he sounded exasperated, Naruto knew that he enjoyed it. "Go on or you'll all be late. We will see you before we leave tomorrow."

The three of them obeyed him, and after their goodbyes were all on their way. Sasuke wrapped one arm around Naruto's waist while the other still held Hana, kissing the man's temple. "Stop being a worrywart, they know what to do while they're alone."

Wrinkling his nose, Naruto took the baby from his husband and laid a kiss to her forehead. "I'm allowed to worry, and so are you." He poked Sasuke in the ribs. "Mister 'I pretend to have no emotions' over here."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke grabbed Hana's baby bag so they could drop her off at daycare on the way to the office. "On the chance that I did show any emotions to the kids, what do you think they would do? Wouldn't that just freak them out more? They're used to you mothering them and fussing over them, and that's enough."

Naruto did fuss over them a lot, and he knew that. And although Sasuke wouldn't admit it, he did too—just not to the effect that he himself did. It was embarrassing because it reminded him of something a woman would do, and in a way it hurt his pride as a male. However, he had always passed it off as the fact that he had in fact been the one to carry these children and give birth to them. So it was only natural, right?

"You fuss over them in your own way, Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto felt the need to defend himself.

"Hn."

"Don't deny it, asshole. You know it's true."

* * *

By the time the kids went to bed that night, they had only received four more lectures. Sasuke would admit that one of them was from him, but he was proud of Naruto for letting go after three. Though, he expected at least one more before they left in the morning.

Sasuke was laying on the bed, a sleeping Hana laying on his chest. Naruto was packing, last minute of course, and sprouting off lists to himself to make sure he had done everything he needed before leaving the village. He mostly had, and Sasuke knew this because he had made actual lists to ensure their jobs were done.

Suddenly, the blonde paused in his packing and looked up, slightly pale as if he had forgotten something important. "Did I turn in those papers?" He asked.

"Which ones?"

"The ones for the wall repairs, they were supposed to go to Izumo. Did I do that?"

Sighing, Sasuke closed his eyes and gently rubbed Hana's back. "Yes, idiot. I delivered them this afternoon, along with the documents that Sakura needed, and the ones for Anko to deal with the Forrest of Death's renovations for the Chunin Exams."

"Oh, okay." Naruto seemed to relax as he went back to packing. After a few minutes he stopped again. "Did I…?"

Sasuke interrupted him. "Shikamaru will finish the budgets tomorrow. We'll sign off on them when we get home. They're not actually due for a month."

Once again, the blonde relaxed. Then again after a few more minutes… "Did…"

"Stop misplacing your anxiety."

"What?"

Looking at him, Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You're talking work, but really you're thinking about the kids." He knew Naruto better than anyone else on earth. If he were really thinking about work, he wouldn't look as panicked every time he thought of something. It also probably didn't help that this would be his first time leaving Hana for more than a few hours. That would definitely add to Naruto's anxiety about them leaving.

There was a huff and he sat on the bed. "Well, I'm worried about them."

"I am too, but you have to let that go. We're leaving tomorrow, and they will all be here and there's nothing we can do at this point that will change that. But they know what to do, they're under watch, and you just need to trust them. Remember, we were both living alone at Jun and Ayumi's age. Actually, we were both living alone at Kenta's age, too. They can handle themselves. We did."

"I just…" Naruto started. He laid down and faced Sasuke, a hand moving to play with the red hair that curled at the base of Hana's head, probably to distract himself. "I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. Something is telling me not to leave."

Sasuke was silent, and he just stared at Naruto. He could relate, something in his gut was telling him that something wasn't right. "They're under watch." He repeated, more to himself than to Naruto.

"But if worse comes to worst, will that really do anything to help them?" He stilled his movements and looked up at Sasuke with large blue eyes.

"I don't know. And there is no way of knowing unless something does happen. But we have to go to the Kage Summit, there is no way around it. The best we could do would be to take Hana with us. And then what? We wouldn't be able to watch her while we are in meetings all day. I'm worried too, okay? We will both be thinking about all four of them the entire trip. However, thanks to the technology we have now that wasn't available to us when we were their age, we can call them and check up on them regularly."

Naruto seemed to think about it, and he smiled an amused smile. "That will drive Jun crazy."

A smile of amusement also passed Sasuke's face briefly. "That it will. But it will make us feel better, right?"

"Right."

"So we will call them. Now get up and finish packing, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I won't tolerate you whining all day because you're tired."

"You're an asshole," Naruto said with a snort.

"Watch your language around the baby," Sasuke chided half-heartedly.

* * *

The next morning, they got out the door after Naruto lectured the children two more times, Shikamaru three times, and Kakashi once. But, with the thought of calling the children once they arrived in Iwagakure, Naruto seemed to be calmer through the trip than he had last night.

It helped Sasuke too.

* * *

By the time he head the third cough in ten minutes, Junichiro was slightly annoyed. Lowering the book he was reading, he waited, and after another two minutes there was another. Saving his place, Junichiro put his book on the coffee table and moved across the room to stand across from Kenta. The boy was sitting at the kitchen table working on his homework. Kenta avoided looking up at him, and his pale face was a little flushed.

Their parents had been gone for five days and in two days he and Ayumi would be leaving for their mission. Everything had gone smoothly so far, which he was thankful for. They hadn't seen hide nor hair of the people who had been following them a few weeks ago, Hana had been mostly easy but a little fussy (nothing they couldn't handle), and Kenta had been his usual responsible self, keeping himself busy and quiet.

It was getting late, and it was Ayumi's turn to put the baby to bed, and it was a night where she was fussy. He didn't blame her though, it was her first time being away from both of their parents at once for more than a few hours, and as hard as they tried they couldn't replace their parents. And while Ayumi was with Hana, here he stood in front of his younger brother, who was making an effort to ignore him. But, from the way his writing began to slow down, he knew he was getting to him.

Finally, Kenta stopped writing.

"Say it." Junichiro demanded.

Kenta remained quiet.

"Say it." He repeated, crossing his arms.

The boy finally looked up at him, stubbornness written in his dark eyes. He was not going to talk, so the two stared at each other for minutes. His resolve was firm until he let out another cough, and he slouched in the chair, throwing down his writing utensil onto the table.

"I don't feel well." Kenta finally admitted, his voice soft. He looked back down at his homework before taking a deep breath. It was a little shaky.

Reaching over the table, he placed a hand on Kenta's forehead. He was warm. "Why haven't you told me?"

"I didn't want you to fuss over me." He looked ashamed.

Jun knew that his brother hated his body, and that he always tried to stay strong and hold out for as long as possible when he started feeling sick. Kenta especially didn't like having to be looked after by his two older siblings, so he had been trying to act even more mature than usual. It just caused Junichiro to sigh as he moved from his brother's sight and into their parent's bedroom to grab his medicine. Measuring it out, he returned to give it to him. Kenta took it begrudgingly, trying to avoid looking at Junichiro again.

"I just don't want this to escalate past you coughing. Ayumi and I are leaving in two days, and with mom and dad gone, being in the hospital won't be fun for you. I'm going to fuss over you anyways because I'm your big brother, but when you're sick, and our parents aren't here, it's my job to fuss. Sometimes you just need to give in and let people take care of you." Kenta was fidgeting under his gaze, feeling a little uncomfortable being lectured by Jun. "So why don't you put your homework away, and we will go upstairs and find a book for you to read? You can sit with me and relax for the rest of the night." He would have to watch over Kenta anyways, to make sure he didn't get worse, and if he got the boy to sit in the living room and read with him, it would be the easiest way.

Behind him, he heard Ayumi huff as she brought a crying Hana out from the nursery. "I give up. I'll just sit out here and hold her until she is asleep. Or I'm asleep. She won't go in the crib."

Jun turned to look at his twin, who looked like she wanted to join the baby in crying. "Just let her cry herself out, she'll fall asleep soon, I can't see her staying up much longer. I'm going to take Kenta upstairs to find a book, he's getting sick."

Ayumi looked between her brothers, frowning, her eyebrows knit together with worry. "Did you take your medicine, Kenta?"

"Jun just gave it to me." Kenta muttered, once again feeling ashamed now that he had both of his siblings worrying about him.

"Come on," Junichiro urged the boy. And Kenta followed him as Ayumi settled down in the living room, trying to calm the baby.

The two boys carried on upstairs where the libraries were. There were quite a few forbidden scrolls, seals, and books on ninjutsu, kekkei genkai, and other ninja arts up there. However, there was also a small library of fiction books. The library had been built up by each Hokage, and although at one point the libraries had been destroyed when Konoha had been attacked, they had tried replenishing the supplies over the years.

Jun absentmindedly walked through the room, letting his fingers graze over the spines of some of the books. "You know, Kenta, I'm not trying to make you feel embarrassed or ashamed by fussing over you. I just want you to be healthy. I care about you a lot, you know?"

With a sigh, Kenta picked up a book and looked at it. "I just want to be normal."

Looking to his brother, Jun heard him cough again. "You are normal, Kenta. You just have limitations. Which wouldn't limit you as much if you would just admit when you felt like you were getting sick. It would make it easier to manage."

"I guess." Kenta picked up another book. "I don't like when people look at me with pity when I tell them I'm not feeling well, though."

Returning to where Kenta was, Jun smiled at him. As responsible as Kenta was, he was still only eight years old, and wanted to be more adult than he actually was. If anything, it worried their parents that he wouldn't just let go and play around and be free like others his age. He had a lot on his shoulders, and Junichiro could see that.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Jun grinned down at his younger brother. "Well, screw them, then. I don't pity you, and neither does Ayumi, or our parents. We know you're strong, we just worry about you. And anyone who does have pity, they don't matter."

Kenta's flushed face light up, and he smiled. "Thanks, Jun." He held up the book he chose, "I'm ready to go back downstairs."

Nodding, Junichiro turned back towards the stairs. But something felt off. He couldn't explain it, but something within him a voice told him to run, to get the hell out of there. Reaching out, he pulled Kenta towards him, confusing the boy. And then he heard a loud noise from downstairs, an explosion, and Ayumi screamed. Kenta tensed against him, and Jun felt his heart beat quicken.

Adrenaline began pumping through his veins, and he knew that he needed to get downstairs to his sisters. Moving forward, he pulled Kenta with him. But, once he reached the stairs, they were blocked by two people in white hooded cloaks. One of them reached towards them, and the blonde jerked back, taking Kenta with him. His mind worked quickly, thinking of everywhere in this room that weapons were hidden, or placed on display. He darted to the side, moving to grab one.

But then he smelled it, a sickly sweet smell invaded his senses, and the last thing he remembered as his vision narrowed in was seeing one of the people raise their head. A metallic mask covered their mouth, protecting them from whatever this smell was. Kenta blacked out before him, and Junichiro was pulled to the floor as he also lost consciousness.


End file.
